SLU BEGINS A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY THURSDAY – Saint Louis women's soccer (6-10-2) takes on Massachusetts (7-8-3) in an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship quarterfinal game Thursday, Nov. 7. First whistle at VCU's SportsBackers Stadium in Richmond, Va., is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (CT). The Billikens, who tied La Salle for second place in the A-10 regular-season standings, are the No. 3 seed in the eight-team tournament, while the Minutewomen are No. 6. The SLU-UMass winner plays the La Salle-George Washington winner in Friday's 4 p.m. (CT) semifinal. The championship match, the winner of which receives the A-10's automatic NCAA Tournament bid, is scheduled for Sunday at noon (CT).
FOLLOWING THE ACTION – A free live video stream and free live statistics will be offered for all A-10 Championship games. To access these features, visit www.atlantic10.com, navigate to the women's soccer page and click on the Championship tab. Ticket information and directions also are available in the Championship section.
THURSDAY'S OTHER QUARTERFINAL GAMES – No. 2 La Salle and No. 7 George Washington open the conference tournament at 10 a.m. Following the SLU-Massachusetts game, No. 1 Dayton and No. 8 VCU square off at 4 p.m., while No. 4 St. Bonaventure and No. 5 George Mason close the quarterfinal round at 6:30 p.m. (all times Central).
BACK IN THE MIX – Saint Louis is returning to the A-10 Championship for the first time since 2009, when the Billikens reached the semifinals. SLU is aiming for its third A-10 Championship title and third NCAA Tournament berth. The Bills won the conference tournament crown and reached the NCAA Tournament second round in 2005 and 2006.
ABOUT THE BILLIKENS – Sophomore forward Livi Logan-Wood has a team-high five goals and adds an assist for a team-leading 11 points. Senior defender Jessie Jarrett (4G, 1A) and senior midfielder/forward Jenny Hummert (3G, 3A) are tied for second with nine points. Freshman forward Cristina Rodriguez has two goals and an assist for five points, while junior defender Maddy Bush (2G), senior midfielder Tori Belgeri (1G, 2A) and sophomore midfielder Jamei Borges (1G, 2A) have four points apiece. Rounding out the scoring are freshman forward Kirsten Clemens (1G, 1A), senior forward Maddie Gebauer (2A), freshman midfielder Tori Marshall (1A) and junior forward Lindsay Elking (1A). Sophomore goalkeeper Hanna Benben carries a 1.65 goals against average – 0.89 in conference play – and has three shutouts.
LAST TIME OUT – Cristina Rodriguez, assisted by Tori Belgeri, scored the only goal of the game in the 11th minute in SLU's 1-0 win at VCU Nov. 3 in the regular-season finale. Hanna Benben made two saves and registered her third career shutout.
HEAD COACH KATIE SHIELDS – Katie Shields is in her first season as the Billikens' head coach after serving as a SLU assistant coach last year. Shields is joined on the sideline by four newcomers to the staff – assistant coaches Scott Gloden and Vince Gentile, volunteer assistant Anne Gloden and senior graduate manager Maggie Baumann.
SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS – The Minutewomen, who are playing in the A-10 Championship for a fifth consecutive year, went 2-1-2 in their last five conference games following a 1-2 start in league play. Senior forward Brittany Moore leads the attack with 18 points (8G, 2A). Moore's five goals vs. A-10 opponents tied for the second-highest number in the league. She is followed by freshman forward Megan Burke (3G, 3A), sophomore forward Jackie Bruno (2G, 3A) and junior midfielder Alyssa D'Arcy (3G). Redshirt freshman Danielle Kriscenski has played every minute in goal and owns a 1.19 GAA, a .787 save percentage and four shutouts. Kriscenski allowed only eight goals in A-10 play, and her .843 save percentage in conference games ranked second.
BILLIKENS, MINUTEWOMEN TIE IN OCTOBER – Saint Louis and Massachusetts battled to a 1-1 draw Oct. 13 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. UMass struck first as Julia Weithofer (Megan Burke assist) scored in the 13th minute. SLU answered with a Livi Logan-Wood goal (Jenny Hummert) in the 22nd minute. Hanna Benben collected three saves for the Billikens, while Danielle Kriscenski made five stops for the Minutewomen.
THE MASSACHUSETTS SERIES – The Billikens hold a 5-1-2 series edge against the Minutewomen. SLU shut out UMass in each of the first five meetings. The Minutewomen earned their first series win in 2010, and the teams tied 1-1 in each of the two most recent meetings (2011, 2013).
