The Billikens, currently ranked 15th in the nation, hosted a successful campaign this past week with wins over both Evansville and the University of Missouri-Kansas City at home. The win over UMKC was head coach Mike McGinty’s 50th career win, and the 13th straight win at Hermann Stadium. McGinty reached the 50 win mark in only three seasons at Saint Louis. The two wins improved the team to 5-1 on the season.
On Sept. 13, the men played Evansville at Hermann Stadium and came out on top 3-1. With the loss, Evansville moved to 1-3-1 on the season. The game, which saw no scoring in the first half, saw three goals in the first ten minutes of the second half.
The first goal of the game came from SLU senior midfielder Raymond Lee less than a minute into the second half. Junior midfielder David Graydon quickly added another goal at the 52:09 mark to give SLU a 2-0 advantage.
Evansville’s Charlie Macias quickly sliced into the lead, scoring at the 52:41 mark. Senior defender Anthony Manning finally sealed the game for the Bills in the 76th minute with a header off of a corner kick from Graydon. The three goals were the first of the season for each player for the Billikens.
In addition to Graydon, other Billikens credited with assists in the game were senior midfielders William Hidalgo and Kingsley Bryce, and junior defender Marco Heskamp. Senior forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Robert Kristo sat out due to injury.
Evansville is the second opponent to score on the Bills this season at home. The other team to score on the Bills was Virginia Tech in a game that was decided by the same score.
The Bills handled UMKC by a score of 2-0 when they came to town Sept. 16. The shut out was freshman goalkeeper Sascha Otte’s third shut out of the season. Otte also had four saves on the night.
Bryce found the back of the net in the 27th minute, assisted by Graydon. The assist was Graydon’s fourth this season, which leads the A-10.
Kristo substituted into the game in the second half after sitting out against Evansville with an injury. His presence was felt, as he capped the game with a goal in the 76th minute. The goal was Kristo’s first since the season opener, but third of the season.
Kristo had help on his goal from Lee and junior defender Filip Pavisic, who began the scoring play.
With Bryce scoring, there are now eight different Billikens who account for the ten goals this season.
“Offensively, we did a good job. I would have liked one or two more on the board, but credit goes to their keeper for making a few point blank saves,” McGinty said. “Tomorrow we’ll start looking at Creighton. We are expecting a great match at their place on Saturday night.”
The team’s next game is in Omaha against current No. 3 Creighton on Sept. 20. Following the Creighton game, the team plays Central Arkansas at home on Sept. 27, and then faces No. 14 Indiana on the road on Oct. 1 before starting A-10 play.
Besides SLU, George Mason is the only other A-10 opponent currently ranked. George Mason is 18th this week, after being 22nd the previous week.
Other news from the team this week comes in the form of conference and national praise for junior defender Tyler David. David received weekly accolades from the Atlantic 10 following his play against Evansville and Louisville. David is the current A-10 co-player of the week and he was also named to the National Team of the Week by College Soccer News.
David headed a corner kick by junior defender Marco Heskamp in the goal last week for his first career score the lone goal in the win over Louisville who was ranked No. 5 at the time. The loss was Louisville’s first of the season. David started every game his freshman and sophomore years.