The regular season for the Saint Louis University (SLU) men’s soccer team began on Aug. 21 with a 0-0 draw against the University of South Florida (USF) and will continue through the season closer against the University of Rhode Island (URI) on Nov. 1. SLU will play both conference and nonconference teams in pursuit of becoming the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) champions.
Following the draw against USF, the Billikens played an impressive match, beating Southern Methodist University (SMU). The No. 5-ranked SMU went down by one after a goal from sophomore Andrew Heckenlaible in the 13th minute.
SLU then claimed another victory, defeating Seton Hall University with a goal from senior defender Easton Grady.
The Billikens suffered their first loss of the season in an away match against a strong University of Indiana team. Although SLU had more shots on goal, they were unable to come back against the opposing side. This was the second match this season where SLU faced off against a top-five team.
On Sept. 7, SLU played Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) in the annual Bronze Boot match, one of the most anticipated matches of the season. While the first half remained scoreless, SLU scored two goals early in the second half. Junior Xavi O’Neil scored in the 57th minute followed by a goal from freshman Theo Franca in the 65th minute, scoring his first career goal for the Billikens.
SIUE scored in the 86th minute, but was unable to close the gap. After 90 minutes of playing time, SLU took home the Bronze Boot for the 24th time in their history.
Head Coach Kevin Kalish has been with the Billikens since 2018 and has coached many Bronze Boot matches, including those he coached while serving as the head coach of SIUE from 2008 to 2013.
After the match, Kalish said, “We needed our attackers to continue to make plays, and I thought they stepped up and made two tonight.”
The most recent draw against the University of Portland makes SLU’s record 3-1-2 going into the next nonconference match against Missouri State University on Sept. 16. SLU’s A-10 charge begins on Sept. 20 against Duquesne University.
The Billikens are currently ranked No. 7 in the NCAA and are looking to gain more wins in the upcoming matches.