Aug. 30, 2010

What's on Tap: The Mike McGinty era for Saint Louis men's soccer officially begins Wednesday, Sept. 1, when the 25th-ranked (Soccer America) Billikens travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to face New Mexico at the UNM Soccer Complex. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. (CT).

Following the Action: All Billiken home games this season will be video streamed live on the Internet via Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. Wednesday's match at New Mexico will be streamed live, for a fee, at www.golobos.com. All home games, and Wednesday's New Mexico match, will be available free of charge on GameTracker.

Ticket Information: Tickets for all men's soccer home games at Robert R. Hermann Stadium can be purchased at the gate, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online at www.slubillikens.com. Prices for single-game tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for youth. Groups of 20 or more receive discounted tickets for $4 apiece. Students with a valid SLU ID card receive free admission.

About the Billikens: The reigning Atlantic 10 Conference champion Billikens return seven starters and 18 total letterwinners from last year's club that finished 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the A-10. SLU qualified for its fourth straight NCAA Tournament after capturing its first A-10 tournament title. In the NCAA Tournament, the Billikens ousted Missouri State 1-0 in the first round at Hermann Stadium. The 2009 season came to an end following a 3-2 overtime defeat at eventual NCAA quarterfinalist Tulsa in the second round.

Bills Picked to Defend A-10 Title: Saint Louis was picked to capture the 2010 A-10 men's soccer crown, according to a vote of the league's head coaches.

Exhibition Season Recap: Saint Louis tied all three games during its exhibition season. The Billikens opened the exhibition slate Aug. 20 and played to a 1-1 draw against Evansville at Hermann Stadium, with Alex Sweetin scoring for the Billikens off an assist from freshman forward Adnan Gabeljic. The Billikens then recorded scoreless draws at Louisville Aug. 24 and at home against SIU Edwardsville Aug. 27.

New Leader: Mike McGinty became the sixth head coach in Billiken history in March 2010. He came to SLU after an 11-year stint at the University of Virginia, where he served as associate head coach for the 2009 NCAA national champion Cavaliers. McGinty brought in an entirely new staff consisting of assistant coaches Jason O'Keefe and Mark Santel, senior graduate manager John DiRaimondo and volunteer assistant (goalkeepers) Jesse Miech.

Billikens Return Leading Scorer: Junior forward/midfielder Mike Roach is the A-10's top returning scorer after accumulating 24 points (11G, 2A) a season ago. Earlier this preseason, Roach was named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List and was tabbed a preseason third-team All-American by CollegeSoccerNews.com. In addition, he was selected to the A-10's preseason All-Conference team.

All-Conference Nods: Sophomore midfielder/forward Alex Sweetin joined Roach on the preseason All-Conference squad. In addition, freshman forward/midfielder Adnan Gabeljic and freshman defender Christian Briggs were named to the league's preseason All-Rookie team. Gabeljic, who enrolled at SLU last semester and participated in spring camp, was the Missouri Gatorade High School Player of the Year and the Missouri Class 3 Offensive Player of the Year in 2009. Briggs, a native of Trinidad & Tobago, has been active in his country's national team setup.

Polling Place: Saint Louis drew a No. 25 national ranking in the Soccer America preseason men's college soccer poll.

SLU's Recruiting Class Draws Recognition: CollegeSoccerNews.com ranked the Billikens' 10-member recruiting class 23rd in the country. In addition, Adnan Gabeljic was named a "CSN Top 100 Freshman to Keep an Eye On."

Scouting New Mexico: The Lobos are the preseason favorite to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) as they return six starters from last year's club that went 12-7-1 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in nine years. Among New Mexico's returning players are four all-conference performers from last year in seniors Ryan Farquharson (1G, 1A) and Michael Reed (1G, 3A), and juniors Lance Rozeboom (1G, 1A) and Michael Green (5G, 4A). New Mexico won all three of its exhibition contests, 1-0 against Missouri State, 3-2 against No. 4 Tulsa and 2-1 against Fort Lewis. Sophomore forward Devon Sandoval led the offense with three goals during exhibition play. New Mexico is coached by Jeremy Fishbein, who is in his ninth season at UNM with a 110-38-16 record, 206-98-26 in 17 years overall.

Series History: Saint Louis leads the all-time series 2-1-0, but the Lobos claimed a 3-0 victory last season at Hermann Stadium in the season opener. Prior to last year, the squads played in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament with SLU prevailing 1-0. The first meeting occurred in 1988 when the Bills topped the Lobos 4-0 on a neutral field at Air Force.

Back for More: Additional returnees for the Billikens include senior midfielder Stephen Bortolon, who was fourth on the squad in scoring with 10 points (3G, 4A) last year. Bortolon is one of three seniors on the roster, joining defender James Dice and forward/midfielder Jimmy Holmes. Junior defender Alex Johnston appeared in every match last year, while sophomore midfielders Nick Maglasang and Michael Robson played in 21 and 18 games, respectively. Junior midfielder Beau Bellomy saw action in 20 games last year, while sophomore forward/midfielder Benny Estes appeared in 12 games and scored twice. Sophomore defender Jake Brown played in 13 games (11 starts), while sophomore defender Jordan Wolff appeared in 11 matches. Defender/midfielder Joda Holloway, defender Ryan Moses, forward/midfielder Devon Newport and midfielder Jonathan Svigos return for their sophomore campaigns after seeing extensive playing time in the spring. Making his return to the Billiken roster is junior forward/midfielder Charles Bryce, who re-enrolled at SLU after missing last season. Sophomore Mark Pais is the lone returning goalkeeper on the roster.

Fresh Faces: The 2010 roster features 10 newcomers (six true freshmen, four transfers). Among the transfers are freshmen keepers Dillon Saffle (Central Florida) and Nick Shackelford (California). Redshirt freshman midfielder Graham Basecke (Indiana) and junior defender Chad Vandegriffe (SMU) also transferred to the Billikens. The true freshmen making their debuts this year are defender Christian Briggs, forward/midfielder Adnan Gabeljic, keeper Jordan Gladstone and midfielders Jon Roeckle, Mike Roettgers and Sito Sasieta.

NCAA History: The Billikens have qualified for the NCAA Tournament a record 46 times, including each of the last four seasons. SLU has won a record 10 national championships: 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1973.

Looking Ahead: Following its season opener against New Mexico, SLU returns to Hermann Stadium for its home opener Saturday, Sept. 4, against No. 18 South Florida at 7 p.m. The Billikens host Oral Roberts Friday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. Prior to that game, championship rings will be distributed to the members of the 2009 A-10 champions.

Saint Louis Billikens Men's Soccer