Sept. 8, 2010

What's on Tap: Saint Louis welcomes Oral Roberts Friday in a key non-conference men's soccer matchup at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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. All home games 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: Saint Louis (0-1-1) is coming off a scoreless draw against then-No. 13 South Florida at Hermann Stadium. The SLU defense kept the potent Bulls attack in check, and the Billikens outshot USF 11-7. In their season opener, the Billikens were nipped 3-2 on the road at New Mexico. Freshman defender Christian Briggs opened the scoring with a goal in the 11th minute, but the Lobos scored three unanswered tallies for a 3-1 advantage. The Billikens benefited from an own goal in the 84th minute. Freshman keeper Nick Shackelford made nine saves. 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.

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.

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.

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. Roach, who missed the first two games with an injury, 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.

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 Oral Roberts: The Golden Eagles (2-1-0) suffered their first setback of the season Tuesday, a 1-0 home loss against Rogers State. Oral Roberts began the year with a 2-1 victory at Central Arkansas and a 1-0 triumph at Memphis. ORU was picked to finish fourth in the Summit League in preseason polling conducted by the league's coaches after finishing 6-8-3 last season. Forward Jarrett Hamilton (2G, 1A), last season's leading scorer, is off to a strong start, having scored the game winners in each of ORU's two victories. Johnny Chavez has the Golden Eagles' other goal, while Gary Arauz and Marco Hernandez each own an assist. Andrew Techanchuk has played every minute in goal and has 14 saves and a 0.67 goals against average. Steve Hayes is in his 12th season at the helm with an 86-99-13 record.

Series History: This will be the first meeting between the clubs.

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.

Ringing Reunion: The 2009 Atlantic 10 Conference champion Billikens will receive their championship rings during a pregame ceremony at the Oral Roberts game.

Watch the Drake Game Live: SLU's Homecoming matchup against Drake Sept. 25 has been selected for TopDrawerSoccer.com's LIVE webcast. The five-camera shoot may be viewed free of charge at TopDrawerSoccer.com. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

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: SLU hits the road for a showdown at No. 3 Tulsa Sept. 17. The Billikens return to Hermann Stadium for Homecoming Sept. 25 against Drake.

Saint Louis Billikens Men's Soccer