Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer explained

Saint Louis Billikens
men's soccer
University:Saint Louis University
Conference:Atlantic 10 Conference
Conference Short:Atlantic 10
City:St. Louis
Stateabb:MO
State:Missouri
Coach:Kevin Kalish
Tenure:5th
Stadium:Hermann Stadium
Capacity:6,050
Nickname:Billikens
Pattern B1:_vneckwhite
Leftarm1:003DA5
Body1:003DA5
Rightarm1:003DA5
Shorts1:003DA5
Socks1:003DA5
Pattern B2:_vneckblue
Leftarm2:ffffff
Body2:ffffff
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Ncaachampion:1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973
Ncaarunnerup:1961, 1971, 1974
Ncaacollegecup:1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1991, 1997
Ncaaeliteeight:1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2021
Ncaasweetsixteen: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
Ncaatourneys: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
Conference Tournament:1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2021, 2022
Conference Season: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.

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.[1] 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.

Roster

[2]

Head coaching history

DatesNameNotes
1959–1966 Bob GuelkerWon 5 NCAA championships in 8 seasons.
1967–1982 Harry KeoughWon 5 NCAA championships in his first 7 seasons.
1983–1996 Joe Clarke
1997–2000 Bob Warming
2001–2009 Dan Donigan
2010–2017 Mike McGinty
2018–present Kevin Kalish

Seasons

See main article: List of Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer seasons.

Previous Season's Records and Standings[3]
SeasonOverall recordConf. RecordCoachConf.Conf RankConf. TournamentNCAA tournament
20158–7–24–2–2Mike McGintyA103rd
201414–4–25–1–2Mike McGintyA102ndSemifinalsNCAA 2nd round
201314–5–26–0–2Mike McGintyA101stRunner-Up
201216–5–07–2–0Mike McGintyA101stChampionsNCAA second round, eighth overall seed
20116–10–14–5–0Mike McGintyA1010th
20109–7–35–3–0Mike McGintyA105thSemifinals
200912–6–07–2–0DoniganA102ndChampionsNCAA 2nd Round
200812–5–56–3DoniganA104thSemifinalsNCAA 2nd round

NCAA Dominance: 1959–1974

See main article: NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.

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.

+ NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship[4]
Year Final SemifinalistsHost CityHost Stadium
Champion Score Runner-up 3rd PlaceScore 4th Place
1959Saint Louis5–2CCNY, West ChesterStorrs, ConnecticutMemorial Stadium
1960Saint Louis (2)3–2West Chester, ConnecticutBrooklyn, New YorkBrooklyn College Field
1961West Chester2–0Saint LouisBridgeport, RutgersSt. Louis, MissouriPublic Schools Stadium
1962Saint Louis (3)4–3MarylandSpringfield College, Michigan StateSt. Louis, MissouriFrancis Field
1963Saint Louis (4)3–0NavyMaryland, ArmyPiscataway, New JerseyRutgers Stadium
1964Navy1–0Michigan StateSaint Louis, ArmyProvidence, Rhode IslandBrown Stadium
1965Saint Louis (5)1–0Michigan StateNavy, ArmySt. Louis, MissouriFrancis Field
1966San Francisco5–2Long Island UniversityMichigan State, ArmyBerkeley, CaliforniaCalifornia Memorial Stadium
1967Michigan State
Saint Louis (6)
0–0 †Navy, Long Island–BrooklynSt. Louis, MissouriFrancis Field
1968Maryland
Michigan State (2)
2–2 (2OT) ‡Brown, San Jose StateAtlantaGrant Field
1969Saint Louis (7)4–0San FranciscoMaryland, HarvardSan Jose, CaliforniaSpartan Stadium
1970Saint Louis (8)1–0UCLAHartwick, HowardEdwardsville, IllinoisCougar Field, SIUE
1971Howard #3–2Saint Louis Harvard, San FranciscoMiamiMiami Orange Bowl
1972Saint Louis (9)4–2UCLAHoward, CornellMiamiMiami Orange Bowl
1973Saint Louis (10)3–2 (OT)UCLABrown, ClemsonMiamiMiami Orange Bowl
1974Howard2–1 (4OT)Saint LouisHartwick3–1UCLASt. Louis, MissouriBusch Memorial Stadium

Notable alumni

1950s–1980s

1990s–present

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.

Honors

1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967(co-champion) 1969, 1970, 1972, & 1973

2009, 2012, 2021, 2022

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20131104185833/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_champs_records/2012/D1/champs.pdf Men's Soccer Div 1 – History (1959-2011)
  2. Web site: 2022 Men's Soccer Roster . Saint Louis University .
  3. Web site: Previous Seasons . CBS Interactive . 23 June 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130423084427/http://www.atlantic10.com/sports/m-soccer/archive/atl10-m-soccer-archive.html . 23 April 2013 .
  4. Web site: Archived copy . 2016-01-05 . 2014-10-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141015070124/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_soccer_champs_records/2012/D1/champs.pdf . dead .
  5. http://www.slubillikens.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27200&ATCLID=205258071 "Leahy To Be Enshrined in Missouri Sports Hall of Fame"