HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHIELDS ERA
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2023
•Won the Atlantic 10 Championship, extending SLU's record to six consecutive conference tournament titles.
•Claimed a fifth A-10 regular-season title in six years.
•Qualified for a sixth straight NCAA Tournament and earned a No. 6 national seed.
•Defeated Indiana and Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament to reach the "Sweet 16" for the first time in program history.
•Earned its highest end-of-season ranking (No. 11) in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
•Matched its highest end-of-season standing (No. 10) in the NCAA Division I RPI.
•Posted records of 19-3-2 overall and 9-0-1 in the A-10.
•Set school records for goals (74), assists (70), points (218), goal differential (plus-59), consecutive shutouts (11), consecutive shutout minutes (1099:09) and games (24), and equaled school marks for longest unbeaten streak (18) and shutouts (15).
•Finished among the national top 10 in numerous categories – second in goals per game (3.08) and goal differential (plus-59); third in points per game (9.08) and shots on goal per game (9.25); fourth in shutout percentage (.625); fifth in assists per game (2.92); and sixth in winning percentage (.833), shots per game (19.04) and save percentage (.867).
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Emily Gaebe was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
•Placed multiple players on the United Soccer Coaches All-America teams for a second straight year as Gaebe (first team) and
Lyndsey Heckel (second team) were selected.
•Gaebe and Heckel were joined on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region list by
Emily Puricelli (first team) and
Caroline Kelly (second team). Saint Louis led the East Region with three first-team choices, and its four total honorees tied for the most.
•Three major-award winners led a group of nine Billikens receiving A-10 postseason honors – Heckel (Defensive Player of the Year), Puricelli (Goalkeeper of the Year) and Gaebe (Offensive Player of the Year).
2022
•United Soccer Coaches East Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
•A-10 Coach of the Year.
•Recognized by the Saint Louis University Women's Commission as one of five Mary Bruemmer Women of the Year.
•Won the Atlantic 10 Championship, extending SLU's record to five consecutive conference tournament titles.
•Captured a fourth A-10 regular-season title in five years.
•Qualified for a fifth straight NCAA Tournament and earned a No. 2 national seed.
•Achieved the program's highest-ever ranking (No. 10) in the United Soccer Coaches poll, reached No. 4 in the College Soccer News ratings – the highest ranking in any poll in program history – and cracked the Top Drawer Soccer top 10.
•Landed at No. 10 in the final NCAA Division I RPI.
•Enjoyed a school-record 18-game winning streak, longest by a Division I women's team in 2022.
•Posted records of 20-2 overall and 10-0 in conference play. The 20 wins set a program record and tied the A-10 women's soccer mark.
•Equaled school records of 11 home wins and nine road victories.
•Set school records for shutouts (15), regular-season winning percentage (17-1, .944), goals (65), assists (61), points (191) and goal differential (plus-55).
•Led the nation in winning percentage (.909), goals per game (2.95), assists per game (2.77) and points per game (8.68); finished third nationally in shutout percentage (.682) and tied for third in goals against average (0.46).
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Lyndsey Heckel (first team),
Abbie Miller (second team) and
Emily Puricelli (third team) were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America squads. Heckel became the first Billiken women's soccer player to earn first-team recognition.
•Heckel also became the program's first Hermann Trophy semifinalist and received the 2023 Chalupny Award as the female soccer Player of the Year in St. Louis.
• Five players, tying the program record and including a program-record four on the first team, made the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region teams; SLU led the region in total selections and first-team selections.
•Set a program record for total All-Conference honorees (10) and tied the program record for first-team selections (seven).
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Abbie Miller (Midfielder of the Year) and
Caroline Kelly (Offensive Player of the Year) garnered A-10 major awards.
2021
•Defeated Ole Miss in an NCAA Championship first-round game in Oxford, Miss.
•Won the Atlantic 10 Championship, becoming the first team in A-10 women's soccer history to capture four consecutive conference tournament titles
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Brionna Halverson was a third-team All-Region selection
•Billiken players accounted for nine A-10 postseason accolades – four on the All-Conference first team, two apiece on the All-Conference second team and All-Rookie team, and Rookie of the Year
Emily Gaebe
•Led the A-10 and ranked ninth nationally with 7.39 corner kicks per game
•Led the A-10 with a .435 shutout percentage (10 shutouts in 23 games)
2020
•United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I East Region Coaching Staff of the Year
•NCAA Championship qualifier, earning the No. 15 seed and a first-round bye
•Won Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament titles, becoming the first team in A-10 women's soccer history to capture both in three consecutive seasons
•Reached the top 10 in the NCAA RPI for the first time
•Achieved a program-high No. 17 national ranking
•15-1-1 overall, setting a program record for winning percentage (.912)
•Unbeaten (8-0-0) in A-10 regular-season play for a third straight year
•Set a program record for most All-Region selections (five), and tied the program mark for most first-team selections (three)
•Set program records for most total All-Conference honorees (eight), most first-team All-Conference picks (seven) and most conference All-Rookie performers (four)
•Produced three of the A-10's four major postseason award winners in
Hannah Friedrich (Offensive Player of the Year),
Emily Puricelli (Defensive Player of the Year) and
Abbie Miller (Midfielder of the Year)
2019
•A-10 Coach of the Year
•NCAA Championship qualifier
•Won A-10 regular-season and tournament titles
•No. 45 in the final NCAA RPI
•17-4-2 overall, 9-0-1 in the A-10
•Had a school-record 16-game unbeaten streak
•Tied school marks of 11 home wins and 13 shutouts
•Played all three A-10 Championship matches at Hermann Stadium and outscored opponents 9-1
•Four All-Region selections (Alli Klug, first team; Courtney Reimer,
Mary Niehaus,
Hannah Friedrich, second team)
•Alli Klug – A-10 Defensive Player of the Year for a third straight season (first player in A-10 women's soccer history to claim a major postseason award three times)
•Courtney Reimer – A-10 Midfielder of the Year (first Billiken to earn the award)
•Six All-Conference selections (Alli Klug, Courtney Reimer,
Mary Niehaus,
Hannah Friedrich, Evie Lavelle, first team;
Brionna Halverson, second team)
•One A-10 All-Rookie selection (
Anna Lawler)
•Tied a school record with three A-10 All-Academic selections (Alyssa Seitzer, Alli Klug, Courtney Reimer)
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2018
•A-10 Coach of the Year
•Recipient of the Carl O. Bauer Award, presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the top amateur sports figure in the St. Louis area
•NCAA Championship qualifier
•Won A-10 regular-season and tournament titles
•18-4-1 overall, 10-0-0 in the A-10
•Outscored three A-10 Championship opponents 11-2
•Set or tied school records in 13 categories – wins (18), regular-season wins (15), conference wins (10), longest winning streak (14), longest unbeaten streak (14), games (23), goals (52), points (144), shutouts (13), consecutive shutouts (six), consecutive shutout minutes (664:46), shots (444) and fewest shots allowed (123)
•14-game winning streak – longest active streak in NCAA Division I women's soccer when Saint Louis carried it into the NCAA Championship
•Alli Klug – second-team All-America
•Four All-Region selections (Alli Klug, Maddie Pokorny, first team; Courtney Reimer,
Hannah Friedrich, second team)
•Alli Klug – A-10 Defensive Player of the Year
•Six All-Conference selections (Alli Klug, Courtney Reimer, Olivia Silverman, first team; Maddie Pokorny, Olivia Petit,
Hannah Friedrich, second team)
•Two A-10 All-Rookie selections (
Isabel Burke,
Hannah Friedrich)
•One A-10 All-Academic selection (Alyssa Seitzer)
2017
•Set what was then a program record for best regular-season winning percentage (.842/15-3-2)
•Placed second (7-2-1) in the A-10 standings for a second consecutive season
•Set what was then a program record for fewest goals allowed (10) and equaled the team record for shutouts (13)
•Played 19th-ranked Kansas to a 1-1 draw in a match that drew a state of Missouri women's college soccer record crowd of 5,205
•Alli Klug – third-team All-America
•Three first-team All-Region selections (Alli Klug,
Mary Niehaus, Olivia Petit) for the first time in program history
•Alli Klug – A-10 Defensive Player of the Year
•Olivia Petit – A-10 Rookie of the Year
•Six All-Conference selections (Alli Klug,
Mary Niehaus, Olivia Petit, first team; Maddie Pokorny, Courtney Reimer, Evie Lavelle, second team)
•Team-record three players (Alyssa Seitzer,
Mary Niehaus, Lauren Tondl) made the A-10 All-Academic team
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2016
•14-4-2 overall, 7-1-2 in the A-10 (second place)
•Shared the A-10 lead with nine shutouts
•Three All-Region selections (Kacey Bright, first team; Danielle Tolmais,
Mary Niehaus, third team)
•Kacey Bright – A-10 Defensive Player of the Year
•Five All-Conference selections (Kacey Bright, Danielle Tolmais,
Mary Niehaus first team; Maddie Pokorny, Shaney Sakamoto, second team)
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2015
•Featured one of the A-10's toughest defensive units, posting a 1.07 GAA in all games and a 0.95 GAA in 10 conference contests; only one A-10 opponent scored more than one goal against Saint Louis
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2014
•Lost by just one goal to NCAA Championship qualifiers Dayton (overtime) and La Salle
•Increased the offensive output to 31 goals and 31 assists, significantly higher than the team's 2013 totals of 19 goals and 15 assists
•Cristina Rodriguez – All-Conference second team
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2013
•Tied for second (5-2-1) in the A-10, an improvement of 10 spots from the previous year
•Qualified for the A-10 Championship for the first time since 2009
•Two All-Conference selections (Jessie Jarrett, first team; Jenny Hummert, second team)
•Cristina Rodriguez – A-10 All-Rookie team
•Livi Logan-Wood – A-10 All-Academic