BILLIKENS CONCLUDE THREE-GAME ROAD SWING VS. VCU

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019 • 6 p.m. CDT

WHERE: Sports Backers Stadium • Richmond, Virginia

RECORDS: SLU 6-3-1, 1-0 A-10; VCU 6-2-1, 0-1 A-10

SLU-VCU SERIES: SLU leads 3-2-1

LAST MEETING: SLU 5, VCU 1 (11/4/18, A-10 Championship final)  RECAP

BILLIKENS' LAST GAME: SLU 4, at Rhode Island 1 (Sept. 22)  RECAP

RAMS' LAST GAME: at Duquesne 2, VCU 1 (Sept. 22)  RECAP

GAME NOTES: Saint Louis | VCU

WATCH: ESPN+

LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast

UP NEXT FOR THE BILLIKENS: Dayton • Sunday, Sept. 29 • 1 p.m. CDT • Hermann Stadium

A LOOK AT THE BILLIKENS

• The teams that finished 1-2 in last year's Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season standings and postseason tournament, as well as in the 2019 A-10 coaches' preseason poll, square off Thursday, Sept. 26, as the Saint Louis Billikens take on the VCU Rams in Richmond. Game time is 6 p.m. (CDT).
• Thursday's contest concludes a three-game road stretch for SLU. The Billikens won 4-1 at Rhode Island Sept. 22 – extending their unbeaten streak to four – and 1-0 at Missouri State Sept. 18.
• Thursday's game is the seventh meeting between SLU and VCU, and the first in regular-season play since 2016. Victories in the last two meetings – including 5-1 in the 2018 A-10 Championship final – have given the Billikens a 3-2-1 series lead.
• SLU has a 14-game winning streak against A-10 opponents.
• The Billikens are No. 57 – highest among A-10 teams – in the first NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which was released Monday. SLU has played four teams in the RPI top 30 – Purdue (No. 23), Louisville (No. 26), Oklahoma State (No. 29) and Notre Dame (No. 30).

• The Billikens rose three spots to No. 4 in this week's United Soccer Coaches East Region poll. Georgetown is No. 1, followed by Xavier, VCU, Saint Louis, Princeton, Butler, Dartmouth, Brown, Hofstra and Villanova.
• Saint Louis is enjoying the offensive balance it featured the past two years. Ten different player combinations have accounted for the Billikens' 11 assisted goals this season.
• The Billikens lead the A-10 in goals against average (0.59) and save percentage (.842) and are second in corner kicks (51).
• Mary Niehaus tops the conference in GAA (0.34), save percentage (.903) and shutouts (five). Niehaus has 34 career wins, good for a second-place tie on the Billikens' all-time list.
• Hannah Friedrich is tied for the league lead in game-winning goals (three), tied for sixth in goals (four) and tied for eighth in points (nine).

• Evie Lavelle is tied for the A-10 lead in assists (four), while Anna Lawler is tied for third in game-winning goals (two).

• 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 RAMS

• VCU fell 2-1 at Duquesne Sunday in its A-10 opener.

• The Rams own a 1-0 victory at Pittsburgh and a 0-0 tie at Wake Forest. 

• VCU, which finished second to Saint Louis in the 2018 A-10 regular-season standings and A-10 Championship, was tabbed for a runner-up finish behind the Billikens this year in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The Rams were 16-4 overall and 9-1 in A-10 play a season ago.

• Junior midfielder Samantha Jerabek is back after earning first-team All-Conference honors and scoring a team-high 29 points (11G, 7A) last year.

• Also back are senior midfielder Alyssa Tallent and sophomore defender Lana Golob, a pair of 2018 second-team All-Conference selections.