MISSOURI STATE IS BILLIKENS' FINAL NONCONFERENCE TEST
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019 • 7 p.m. CDT
WHERE: Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium • Springfield, Missouri
RECORDS: SLU 4-3-1; MSU 5-1-1
SLU-MSU SERIES: SLU leads 10-2-5
LAST MEETING: at SLU 3, MSU 0 (9/9/18) RECAP
BILLIKENS' LAST GAME: at SLU 0, Purdue 0, 2 OT (Sept. 15) RECAP
BEARS' LAST GAME: at Missouri State 1, Murray State 0 (Sept. 15) RECAP
GAME NOTES: Saint Louis | Missouri State
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: SIDEARM
UP NEXT FOR THE BILLIKENS: at Rhode Island • Sunday, Sept. 22 • Noon CDT • Kingston, R.I.
A LOOK AT THE BILLIKENS
• Ranked No. 7 in this week's United Soccer Coaches East Region poll, Saint Louis wraps up its nonconference schedule Wednesday, Sept. 18, by taking on intrastate rival Missouri State in Springfield. Game time is 7 p.m.
• Wednesday's contest is the last of three games in six days for the Billikens. SLU edged Iowa State 1-0 in overtime Friday night and tied Purdue 0-0 Sunday afternoon, both in St. Louis.
• Goalkeeper Mary Niehaus is the Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 9-15. Niehaus leads the A-10 in GAA (0.42), save percentage (.893) and shutouts (four).
• Wednesday night's game is the 18th meeting between SLU and Missouri State, tying the Bears as the Billikens' most frequent opponent. Saint Louis' 10-2-5 series lead includes a 5-2-2 mark in Springfield. The Bills have won two straight, including 3-0 in St. Louis last year.
• Saint Louis is enjoying the offensive balance it has featured the past two years. Seven different player combinations have accounted for the Billikens' seven assisted goals this season.
• Sunday afternoon's draw vs. Purdue gave the Billikens a 29-1-5 record in their last 35 games at Robert R. Hermann Stadium, a stretch that dates to the final home game of the 2015 season.
• Hannah Friedrich leads the Billikens with seven points (3G, 1A). Friedrich is tied for first in the A-10 in game-winning goals (two), tied for seventh in goals and 10th in points.
• Evie Lavelle is tied for fifth in the league in assists (three).
• After winning Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament titles and posting a school-record 18 wins a year ago, the Billikens were selected to finish atop the league again in the A-10 head coaches' preseason poll. Seven starters and 10 additional players are back from SLU's 2018 team.
• Senior defender Alli Klug appears on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for a second straight season. Klug also is one of four Billikens on the A-10 preseason All-Conference team, joining senior goalkeeper Mary Niehaus, senior midfielder Courtney Reimer and sophomore forward Hannah Friedrich.
• Saint Louis will host the semifinals and final of the 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Friday and Sunday, Nov. 8 and 10. Four first-round games will be played on the home fields of the top four teams in the final regular-season standings, with the winners advancing to SLU's Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
A LOOK AT THE BEARS
• Eight starters and seven additional letter winners returned from last year's Missouri State team that was 8-9-2 overall and 2-3-2 (fifth place) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Among the returning players are six 2018 Missouri Valley postseason honorees. Junior Kaitlin Maxwell was the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year and was joined on the All-Conference first team by senior defender Brittney Robinson. Junior midfielder Jacqueline Baetz and junior forward/midfielder Jordan Eickelman were named to the second team and honorable mention, respectively, while sophomore forward/midfielders Anna Durnin and Kennady Orlick were All-Freshman picks.
• Missouri State is 5-0-1 since dropping its opener at Western Illinois. The Bears have allowed just one goal over their last four games.
• Freshman forward Unnur Bergsdottir (3G), senior midfielder/forward Ashley Coonfield (2G, 2A) and Eickelman (2G, 2A) lead Missouri State with six points apiece.
• Maxwell carries a 0.83 goals against average and an .842 save percentage.
