Tag Archives: SLU Billikens

Jesse Miech Named Head Coach at Illinois-Springfield

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Jesse Miech, Missouri State (2006)

Jesse Miech, Missouri State (2006)

From the State-Register Journal in Springfield, IL comes news that Jesse Miech has been named the men’s head soccer coach at the University of Illinois Springfield. UIS is a D2 program that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference which will bring Jesse to Springfield, MO every other year. He is the second former regional Coach to be named a Head Coach in the GLVC this year (Kiley Cirillo was named Indianapolis Women’s Head Coach in January).

Miech was an assistant last season with the NCAA Division I Billikens, and he worked primarily with the goalkeepers.

He also served as a volunteer assistant coach at Virginia Tech in 2010, and from 2008-09 he was an assistant at Clemson. With the Tigers, Miech assisted in the day-to-day operations of the soccer program and was directly responsible for the implementation of a year-round goalkeeper-training program.

Miech also spent two seasons beginning in 2006 at Missouri State, where he coached the Bears’ goalkeepers and was the program’s head recruiter.

Moses And Newport Advance To Regional Semifinals

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SLU Billikens Ian Newport, Ryan Moses, Devon Newport

Current SLU Billikens, Ryan Moses and Devon Newport, have advanced to the Semifinals at the US Youth Soccer Midwest Regionals. Their U19 team went undefeated in group play and are facing the KC Wizard Juniors today.

Video highlights for all Age Groups on US Youth Soccer website

Moses (Kickapoo Chiefs) and Newport (Glendale Falcons) both previously played for Springfield SC, earning State Championship titles at U16 and U17. Their new team is a result of recommendations by their college coach to allow for additional playing time with three of their Billiken teammates who are also part of the team.

UPDATE – the Gallagher boys fell to the KC Wizards 0-1 on a 28th minute goal scored by Ethan Bauer for the KC Wizard Juniors who advance to the Regional final where they will face the Columbus Crew Juniors Wednesday at 8am.

Missouri State Wins Spring Exhibition Game At SLU

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Devon Newport (Glendale/SSC) With The Ball

Devon Newport (Glendale/SSC) With The Ball

Beautiful night on a beautiful pitch at Robert E Hermann Stadium in St Louis Wednesday. Missouri State and St Louis University, last seen battling for the opportunity to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, renewed acquaintances for a Spring exhibition match. As a player and a coach, once you reach this level you never want to lose but I’ve also learned to take these games with a grain of salt. It’s a good opportunity to try things and in the case of new SLU Coach Mike McGinty, learn more about your team under game conditions.

All this to preface a result that was a positive one for our local boys as Jordan Hoffman, as promised at half time, scored for the Bear’s in the 66th minute. The young man was also removed from the game before the ensuing restart when his ‘banter’ with SLU forward Mike Roach reached a level that the referee felt warranted a red card. So much for a simple Spring match between these two teams.

For the Billikens, both Devon Newport (Glendale/SSC) and Ryan Moses (Kickapoo/SSC) were in the starting line up and played the majority of the match. Good stuff tonight which you can see in the photos and I’ll throw up one or two videos tomorrow.

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SLU Billikens Shut Out SIU-Edwardsville, Face Missouri State April 14

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SLU Billikens and SIU Edwardsville Cougars - Bronze Boot 2010

SLU Billikens and SIU Edwardsville Cougars - Bronze Boot 2010

From the SLU Billiken website: Alex Sweetin’s goal in the 79th minute against SIUE broke a scoreless tie and lifted the Saint Louis Billikens to a 1-0 win Saturday in a men’s soccer exhibition match at AB Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo.

“It’s always positive to get a win, but I don’t think we started terribly well,” first-year head coach Mike McGinty said. “As the game went on we got better as the guys found some rhythm and got more involved. The second half was definitely better than the first. I again would like to thank AC St. Louis for helping to make this game happen. It was a fun night of soccer.”

SIUE out-shot the Billikens in the match, but it was Sweetin’s goal at 78:04 that proved to be the difference. Charles Bryce carried the ball just outside the box, where he found a wide-open Mike Roach on the right side. Roach passed up a shot, and fed an even more wide-open Sweetin, who buried a shot from the top of the box for the game’s only goal.

Billiken keeper Mark Pais played all 90 minutes and made eight saves, several of them from point-blank range. No word on whether any of our three local representatives made an appearance although I did see a picture of Devon Newport on the pitch in the last exhibition game. Anyone with news on that front?

Saint Louis moves to 1-0-1 in its five-match spring exhibition season. The Billikens are next in action Wednesday, April 14, when they host Missouri State at 7 p.m. at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. All spring matches at Hermann Stadium are free and open to the public.

The Post-Dispatch also has an interesting article on new SLU Head Coach Mike McGinty titled Mike McGinty takes control of SLU soccer that pretty well defines the content of the story.

SLU Coach Dan Donigan Leaves For Rutgers

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SLU Coach Dan Donigan, patting Devon Newport

SLU Coach Dan Donigan, patting Devon Newport

The Trenton New Jersey native, pictured here during a game against Missouri State in August 2009 patting Springfield native Devon Newport on the back, heads home:

Dan Donigan was named the new Rutgers men’s soccer coach, Scarlet Knights athletics director Tim Pernetti said Friday morning. Pernetti offered the job to the ninth-year Saint Louis coach after the other finalist, Monmouth coach Rob McCourt, withdrew his name for consideration Thursday night.

Pernetti said that while he believed he couldn’t go wrong with either finalist, Donigan was the candidate he honed in on after his second round of interviews Wednesday.

In Donigan, Rutgers is getting a highly-accomplished coach with both New Jersey and Big East ties to replace Bob Reasso, who resigned in November after 29 mostly-successful seasons.

During his tenure at SLU, the 43-year old Donigan compiled a 118-42-23 record, including a 15-7 mark last fall. The Trenton native, who was an All-State player at Hamilton East in the 1980s, led the Billikens to four straight NCAA Tournaments, including a run to the second round last November.

Missouri State Bears At St Louis University Billikens

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SLU Billikens host Missouri State BearsSLU Billikens – 2
Missouri State Bears – 0
A pair of goals by a pair of St Louis products gave the home team another win against their in-state rival. A goal in the 8th minute by Mike Roach (Chaminade 2007, pictured being defended by Ryan Hennessey) and Jimmy Holmes (Priory 2006) who was sent in alone in the 74th by Roach, was enough to hold off an improved Bears squad. Tonight’s game included a start by #24 Devon Newport (Glendale 2009, Springfield SC) and minutes in both halves for him and #25 Ryan Moses (Kickapoo 2009, Springfield SC) who also played in both halves.

While unable to break the winless streak against SLU, this MSU squad looks like it should do well in the MVC as noted by the Coaches poll.

Missouri State opens the regular season on Tuesday, September 1, at Tulsa. The Bears and Golden Hurricanes kick off at 7:00 p.m. at Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium.

Game time is 7pm tonight, I’ll be in attendance with my niece. I’ll have a few photos along with a report later.

It’s the first exhibition match for the Billikens and you can catch it via live streaming if you are interested.

All Billiken exhibition and regular-season home games are video streamed live through Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. In addition to the games, fans can view player interviews, highlights and much more at no charge. GameTracker is again available free of charge in 2009.

In preseason rankings, the Billikens come in at No. 21 in the NSCAA coaches’ poll and No. 24 in the CollegeSoccerNews.com poll. The Billikens return six starters and 15 total letterwinners from last year’s club that finished 12-5-5 overall and 6-3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

SLU Billikens Have 6 Earn Preseason Honors

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The Atlantic 10 Conference has released their Preseason All-Conference list. SLU had two players, Senior midfielder Kyle Hayes (St. Louis, Mo./CBC) and senior defender Tim Ream (St. Louis, Mo./St. Dominic) named to the 11-player preseason All-Conference list.

The Billikens also placed a league-high four players on the All-Rookie team – Benny Estes (Santa Margarita, Calif./ Trabuco Hills), Nick Maglasang (St. Louis, Mo./SLUH), Mark Pais (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue) and Alex Sweetin (Overland Park, Kan./Rockhurst).

Get all the details here.

Moses And Newport Part of Top 10 Recruiting Class At SLU Billikens

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Soccer America (a subscription only site) recently ranked the college recruiting classes for the top programs in the country. They had some nice things to say about the SLU Billikens (from their website)

Soccer America Ranks Billikens’ Recruiting Class 10th in Nation

U16 Missouri State Cup - Springfield SC vs Lou Fusz PopvicST. LOUIS – According to Soccer America, Saint Louis men’s soccer has turned in the 10th-best recruiting class in the nation in 2009. The Billikens were one of 15 schools in the country recognized by the publication in its annual ranking of men’s collegiate recruiting classes.

The Billikens will welcome 12 freshmen and one newcomer in 2009. Among SLU’s incoming freshmen are National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) high school All-Americans Nick Maglasang (St. Louis, Mo./SLUH) and Alex Sweetin (Overland Park, Kan./Rockhurst). Local product Mike Roach (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade) transferred into the program from Indiana and begins his three years of eligibility with the Billikens in the fall.

Four new Billikens are teammates on the St. Louis Scott Gallagher U.S. Soccer Development Academy team. They are Joda Holloway (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Notre Dame), Maglasang, Mark Pais (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue) and Michael Robson (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade). SLU’s recruiting class also includes a trio of new Billikens from California – Benny Estes (Santa Margarita), Brian Green (La Quinta) and Jordan Wolff (Anaheim Hills).

Springfield SC vs Lou Fusz Popovic (U15)A pair of club teammates from Springfield, Mo., Ryan Moses (Kickapoo HS, above) and Devon Newport (Glendale HS, left), will debut in a Billiken uniform next season. Jacob Brown (Omaha, Neb.) joins the Billikens from the prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary’s School program, while Scott Kocel enters the program out of Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado.

Below is the complete list of the 2009 Saint Louis Billikens recruiting class. Click on their names to view the official press release announcing their signings.

2009 Newcomers
Jacob Brown • MF/D • Omaha, Neb. (Shattuck-St. Mary’s School [Minn.])
Benny Estes • F/MF • Santa Margarita, Calif. (Trabuco Hills/Pateadores)
Brian Green • D • La Quinta, Calif. (La Quinta/LAFC)
Joda Holloway • D • Cape Girardeau, Mo. (Notre Dame/St. Louis Scott Gallagher)
Scott Kocel • MF • Colorado Sprints, Colo. (Cheyenne Mountain/Real Colorado)
Nick Maglasang • MF/D • St. Louis, Mo. (SLUH/St. Louis Scott Gallagher)
Ryan Moses • F/MF/D • Springfield, Mo. (Kickapoo/Springfield Soccer Club)
Devon Newport • MF • Springfield, Mo. (Glendale/Springfield Soccer Club)
Mark Pais • GK • St. Louis, Mo. (Ladue/St. Louis Scott Gallagher)
Mike Roach • F/MF • St. Louis, Mo. (Chaminade/Indiana University)
Michael Robson • MF/D • St. Louis, Mo. (Chaminade/St. Louis Scott Gallagher)
Alex Sweetin • MF • Overland Park, Kan. (Rockhurst/Kansas City Wizards/KCFC Alliance)
Jordan Wolff • MF/F • Anaheim Hills, Calif. (Villa Park/Pateadores)

Newport And Jordan Named Player Of The Year By Springfield SC

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Our regional mega-club, Springfield Soccer Club, held their 5th annual banquet at the end of February. As part of the celebrations, they name a male and female Player of the Year. Past winners include current Missouri State Bear players Heath Melugin and Tara Bailes, as well as All-American Patrick Carver (2005).

    The 2008-09 Springfield Soccer Club Award Winners

Boys Player of the Year- Devon Newport and Girls Player of the Year- Emily Jordan

Glendale Falcons vs Kickapoo ChiefsGlendale Falcons vs Incarnate Word Red Knights, Quarterfinal

I don’t think there is anything new I can add about Devon who along with his brother Ian are headed for St Louis University and the Billiken’s D1 program in the Fall. Their U18 team is working to earn their 3rd straight State Championship this summer, when the Missouri State Cup is held in Springfield in early June.

Emily is another story. A quiet leader, she has been playing defensive midfielder for the Glendale Falcons since her sophomore year, taking care of the dirty work while better known teammates such as Lou Opfer, Lindsay Sprouse and Emily Cline were busy scoring goals. This season I expect she and fellow senior Jeni Frewin will Captain the Glendale Falcon’s who enter the season as the favorite to return to the Quarterfinals. Emily was chosen Honorable Mention All-Ozarks last year, this year she will be mentioned at the same time as the Falcon’s scoring pair and Ashley McWilliams who will share the responsibility of protecting the Falcon’s sophomore goalkeeper. Emily has not made her final decision regarding college but has been evaluating nationally recognized liberal arts programs who play at the Division 3 level. I’m concerned she’s going to be several states away which will limit my chances to see her continued progression as a player and a leader. UPDATE – looks like the decision has been made, it’s Concordia College in Moorhead, MN a D3 program where she’ll be a Cobber

Congratulations to both players and good luck with your Spring goals.