Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer

Saint Louis Billikens
men's soccer
Founded1959; 65 years ago (1959)[1]
UniversitySaint Louis University
Head coachKevin Kalish (5th season)
ConferenceAtlantic 10
LocationSt. Louis, Missouri
StadiumHermann Stadium
(Capacity: 6,050)
NicknameBillikens
ColorsBlue, White, and Grey
     
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament championships
1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973
NCAA Tournament runner-up
1961, 1971, 1974
NCAA Tournament College Cup
1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1991, 1997
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2021
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2021
NCAA Tournament appearances
1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2021, 2022
Conference Regular Season championships
1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2016, 2021, 2022

The Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Saint Louis University. The Saint Louis Billikens compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. Soccer is the main fall sport at SLU, which has not sponsored football since 1949.

Despite the long soccer tradition in the city of St. Louis, the University did not field a varsity team until 1959, when the Billikens won the first NCAA soccer championship held. With Bob Guelker as coach, the team achieved a 11–1 record that season. They defeated the University of Bridgeport 5–2 in the championship game.[1]

Noted for their dominance in men's collegiate soccer during the late 1950s through the mid-1970s, the Billikens have won 10 NCAA Men's Soccer Championships, the most of any men's college soccer program in Division 1.[2] Despite this, the Billikens have not appeared in an NCAA national championship final since 1974, and have appeared in the college cup twice since then: 1991 and 1997. Of their ten titles, nine were outright earned by the Billikens and their 1967 title was shared with the Michigan State Spartans.

During their dynasty run from the 1960s through 1970s, the team was coached by Bob Guelker during their first five championships, while Harry Keough coached the last five championship teams at SLU. Dan Donigan was the most recent head coach, serving from February 2001 until he resigned in January 2010 to accept a position at Rutgers. Presently, the Billikens are coached by Kevin Kalish.

Players

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Current roster

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As of March 24, 2024[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Mason Hart
1 GK Germany GER Carlos Tofern
2 DF United States USA Carlos Leatherman
3 MF United States USA Caleb Iverson
4 DF Spain ESP Alberto Suarez
5 DF United States USA Max Floriani
6 MF United States USA Christian Buendia
7 FW United States USA Seth Anderson
8 MF United States USA Brian Johnson
9 FW United States USA Erich Legut
10 MF United States USA Jack Sullivan
11 MF Denmark DEN Mads Stistrup Petersen
12 DF Nigeria NGA Enzo Okpoye
13 FW United States USA CJ Coppola
14 DF United States USA Grady Easton
15 MF United States USA Brogan Townsend
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 FW United States USA Dylan Olson
17 MF United States USA Tomas Dovidaitis
18 MF United States USA Lane Warrington
19 MF United States USA Jack Mika
21 DF United States USA Daniel Moore
22 DF United States USA Lawson Redmoon
23 MF United States USA Alex Shterenberg
24 FW United States USA Karson Gibbs
25 MF United States USA Matteo Boasso
26 DF United States USA Bryce Warhaft
27 MF United States USA Tomas Dovidaitis
28 GK Israel ISR Yuval Sade
29 GK United States USA Nate Shapiro
30 GK United States USA Gavin Roberts
33 MF United States USA Kevin Komodi
DF Finland FIN Gershon Henry

Notable alumni

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1950s–1980s

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  • Mike Shanahan (1960) — Played on 1959 and 1960 championship teams
  • Carl Gentile (1965) — Played with the St. Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League; earned 6 caps with the U.S. national team
  • Pat McBride (1967) — Played 10 seasons with the St. Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League; earned 5 caps with the U.S. national team
  • Al Trost (1970) — Played with the St. Louis Stars and other teams in the North American Soccer League; earned 14 caps with the U.S. national team
  • Pat Leahy (1972) — Played on three of the school's national championship soccer teams; placekicker for the NFL's New York Jets from 1974 to 1992 & Jets' all-time leading scorer[4]
  • Joe Clarke (1975) — Played professional soccer for 7 seasons, including stints with NASL's St. Louis Stars and MISL's St. Louis Steamers
  • Jim Kavanaugh (1985) — Played in the Major Indoor Soccer League; co-founder and CEO of World Wide Technology.

1990s–present

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Note: The number in parentheses indicates the year the player graduated from SLU; for those who didn't graduate from SLU, the number indicates the last year they played for SLU.

Coaches

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Current staff

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As of May 8, 2021
Position Staff
Head Coach Kevin Kalish
Assistant Coach Kris Bertsch
Assistant Coach Kevin Stoll
Director of Operations Constantin Heider
Volunteer Assistant Coach (GKs) Euan Morton
Team Chaplain Christian Zombek, S.J.

Last updated: January 1, 2023
Source: Here

Head coaching history

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Dates Name Notes
1959–1966 United States Bob Guelker Won 5 NCAA championships in 8 seasons.
1967–1982 United States Harry Keough Won 5 NCAA championships in his first 7 seasons.
1983–1996 United States Joe Clarke
1997–2000 United States Bob Warming
2001–2009 United States Dan Donigan
2010–2017 United States Mike McGinty
2018–present United States Kevin Kalish

Seasons

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NCAA Dominance: 1959–1974

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The following table shows the sixteen-year span from 1959 to 1974 in which SLU won 10 NCAA titles. In the six seasons in which SLU did not win, they finished second three times, reached the semifinals once, reached the quarterfinals once, and reached the round-of-16 once. In all 16 seasons, the NCAA tournament was either won by SLU or by the team that had beaten SLU.

St. Louis winning NCAA tournament seasons
Title
No.
Title
season
Regular season NCAA tourn. Total record
1 1959 8–1-0 3–0 12–1–0
2 1960 11–1-0 3–0 14–1–0
3 1962 9–0-1 3–0 12–0–1
4 1963 10–0-0 3–0 13–0–0
5 1965 10–0-0 4–0 14–0–0
6 1967 5–3-1 3–1 13–3–2
7 1969 9–0–0 4–0 13–0–0
8 1970 10–0-1 4–0 14–0–1
9 1972 11–2–3 4–0 15–2–3
10 1973 11–2–3 4–0 15–2–3

Modern seasons

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St. Louis threaten to score against Duquesne, November 2008
St. Louis (in white) vs. Duquesne, November 2008
Previous Season's Records and Standings[5]
Season Overall
record
Conf.
Record
Coach Conf. Conf.
Rank
Conf.
Tournament
NCAA tournament
2023 8–4–5 4–1–3 Kevin Kalish A10 2nd Quarterfinals
2022 12–5–3 6–1–1 Kevin Kalish A10 1st Champions NCAA Second Round
2021 16–1–4 8–0–0 Kevin Kalish A10 1st Champions NCAA Quarterfinals
2020 9–5–0 4–2–0 Kevin Kalish A10 2nd Semifinals
2019 10–7–0 6–2–0 Kevin Kalish A10 4th Quarterfinals
2018 6–4–7 4–4–0 Kevin Kalish A10 6th Quarterfinals
2017 7–9–1 4–4–0 Mike McGinty A10 8th Quarterfinals
2016 7–8–3 6–2–0 Mike McGinty A10 1st Quarterfinals
2015 8–7–2 4–2–2 Mike McGinty A10 3rd Quarterfinals
2014 14–4–2 5–1–2 Mike McGinty A10 2nd Semifinals 2nd round
2013 14–5–2 6–0–2 Mike McGinty A10 1st Runner-Up
2012 16–5–0 7–2–0 Mike McGinty A10 1st Champions second round,
eighth overall seed
2011 6–10–1 4–5–0 Mike McGinty A10 10th
2010 9–7–3 5–3–0 Mike McGinty A10 5th Semifinals
2009 12–6–0 7–2–0 Donigan A10 2nd Champions 2nd Round
2008 12–5–5 6–3 Donigan A10 4th Semifinals 2nd round

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b SLU Legends and Lore: The Billiken Soccer Dynasty on St. Louis University
  2. ^ Men's Soccer Div 1 – History (1959-2011) on the NCAA
  3. ^ "2022 Men's Soccer Roster". Saint Louis University.
  4. ^ "Leahy To Be Enshrined in Missouri Sports Hall of Fame", SLU Billikens, February 9, 2007.
  5. ^ "Previous Seasons". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
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