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Saint Louis - Four Star Class Ranking - Dan Donigan has added a large thirteen member recruiting class that includes twelve true freshmen and transfer Mike Roach who returns home after initially electing to play his collegiate soccer for Indiana. Roach saw action in eighteen contests as a freshman at IU in 2007 but sat out last year as a redshirt. The Saint Louis class includes NSCAA High School All-American midfielders Nick Maglasang and Alex Sweetin. Maglasang played club soccer for highly regarded Scott Gallagher while Sweetin, who follows in the footsteps of his brother Eric who graduated last year, played club for the very successful Kansas City Wizards/KCFC Alliance. Collectively the class has an impressive resume of high level club play. As would be expected the class draws heavily from the State of Missouri but like last year the new crop of Billikens reflects the influence of assistant coach Matt Tuton in that it includes three players who hail from the State of California. Donigan enters the 2009 season with the challenge of replacing six very talented and experienced seniors from the 2008 team. The departed seniors are center back Calum Angus, midfielders Kyle Paterson (12g, 5a), Brandon Barklage (7g, 10a) and Eric Sweetin, forward Dado Hamzagic (3g, 5a) and goalkeeper Pat Disbennet. What’s the first thing that comes to mind whey you think of the men’s soccer program at Saint Louis? For many it’s the fact that the program has earned an incredible forty-five invites to the NCAA Tourney in the forty-nine year history of the event and have won ten national championships. For others, it’s the fact that the Billikens have not made an extended run in NCAA Tourney play since the 2003 season. Saint Louis was 12-5-5 overall last year with a 6-3-0 mark in Atlantic Ten play. They earned their third consecutive invitation to the NCAA Tournament and picked up their first victory in NCAA play since the 2003 campaign when Kyle Hayes scored with four ticks remaining in the second overtime period to defeat Drake 1-0 in first round action. The curtain came down on the Billiken’s season the following week when they were defeated 2-0 by Indiana. The Saint Louis faithful who remember the glory days of the program are hungry for an extended run in NCAA Tourney play but the fact that the Billikens were not one and out in 2008 was movement in the right direction. Seniors Jimmy Holmes (3g, 1a) and Scott Wisniewski (1g, 3a) and sophomore Jonas Reiter (2g, 0a) are among returning forwards who Donigan will likely look to for offensive productivity in 2009. Seniors Kyle Hayes (6g, 4a), James Jaramillo (3g. 3a), Josh Aranda, and James Dice are among returning midfielders. The backline looks to be a team strength heading into the 2009 campaign with veteran defenders Tim Ream (0g, 2a) and Rob Viviano (0g, 2a) returning. Ream and Viviano have been starters for the past three seasons. Sophomores Alex Johnston and Keegan Smith who both hail from Texas are among other returning defenders who are extremely capable players. Senior goalkeeper Ross Kaufman who has two seasons of starting experience under his belt looks to be well positioned to move back into a starting role in 2009. There are two factors that will likely define Saint Louis’ season in 2009. The first relates to the departure of Patterson, Barklage, and Hamzagic and the fact that some new faces must step forward to pick up the slack on the offensive side of the ball. Hayes, Holmes, Wisniewski, Reiter and newcomer Roach appear to be the likely suspects to accomplish that. The second factor pertains to Donigan’s ability to merge the individual talents of his players into a unified and focused team. When Saint Louis moved from the then higher profile Conference USA to the Atlantic Ten Conference in 2005 the consensus was that the Billikens would pretty much have their way in A-10 play. After all, Saint Louis had won eight championships in their ten year history in CUSA play. While the Billikens have performed well in Atlantic Ten play they have not dominated the conference. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is not that Saint Louis hasn’t performed to their potential but that the A-10 is more competitive than many thought. Expectations will again be high for the Billikens in 2009 in the soccer savvy city of St. Louis where the goal is not just to earn an invite to the big dance but to make some noise on the national scene and to make something happen in NCAA Tourney play.
Jacob Brown - Omaha, Nebraska - Midfielder - Shattuck-St. Mary’s School - Athletic and strong player who is technically sound and a solid competitor.
Benny Estes - Santa Margarita, California - Forward - Trabuco Hills - Played club for the Pateadores’ US Soccer Development Academy Team - A talented finisher.
Brian Green - LaQuinta, California - Defender - La Quinta High School - Played with Los Angeles Futbol Club - Solid defender with the size, technical skills, and soccer savvy needed to compete.
Joda Holloway - Cape Girardeau, Missouri - Defender - Notre Dame High School - Played club with Scott Gallagher - First Team All-State selection - Great work ethic - Solid marking back.
Scott Kocel - Colorado Springs, Colorado - Midfielder - Cheyenne Mountain High School - Played club with Real Colorado U.S. Soccer Development Academy team - All-State selection.
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