SLU WOMEN'S SOCCER GAME NOTES & INFORMATION
Game 1	#21 Saint Louis at #13 BYU (United Soccer Coaches rankings)
Date // Time	Thursday, August 17, 2023 // 8 p.m. CDT
Location	Provo, Utah (South Field)
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Saint Louis | BYU

•The Atlantic 10 Conference and Big 12 Conference preseason favorites square off in an early-season showdown Thursday, Aug. 17, as No. 21 Saint Louis visits No. 13 BYU. Kickoff at South Field in Provo, Utah, is at 8 p.m. Central.
•Links for streaming, live stats and game notes for both teams are included in the table above.
•This season, fans can be part of a watch party for all Billiken road games at Dave and Buster's, located at 13857 Riverport Drive in Maryland Heights.
•Both teams are ranked in all three preseason national polls. The Billikens are rated No. 21 by United Soccer Coaches, No. 13 by College Soccer News and No. 17 by Top Drawer Soccer. The Cougars are ranked No. 13 by United Soccer Coaches, No. 10 by College Soccer News and No. 12 by Top Drawer Soccer.
•The SLU-BYU game is one of two opening-night contests matching league favorites. The other is North Carolina (Atlantic Coast) at Penn State (Big Ten).
•Thursday night's game is the first meeting between Saint Louis and BYU.
•The game features five 2022 United Soccer Coaches All-Americans -- defender Lyndsey Heckel (first team), midfielder Abbie Miller (second team) and goalkeeper Emily Puricelli (third team) of Saint Louis, and midfielder Jamie Shepherd (second team) and forward/midfielder Brecken Mozingo (second team) of BYU.
•Emily Puricelli's next win will be the 49th of her career, putting her all alone in first place on the Bills' all-time list.
•SLU posted a school-record 20 wins (20-2), captured A-10 regular-season (10-0) and tournament championships, and played in a fifth consecutive NCAA Championship a year ago.
•BYU went 11-3-7 overall and 6-0-3 (second place) in the West Coast Conference in 2022, its final campaign as a WCC member. The Cougars went on to reach the NCAA Championship round of 16, where they fell 3-2 to eventual national runner-up North Carolina. BYU was the 2021 national runner-up.
•The Billikens are playing a nationally ranked opponent in their season opener for a second consecutive year; they defeated No. 8 Arkansas 1-0 at Hermann Stadium in their 2022 debut. BYU is the fourth ranked opponent the Billikens have faced in a season opener overall (Arkansas in 2022, home vs. No. 18 Memphis in 2010, at No. 12 Duke in 2006).
•Saint Louis owns a 16-10-1 record in season openers.
•The Billikens are 4-4-2 vs. nationally ranked opponents under Katie Shields, who is in her 11th season as head coach with a 134-56-14 (.691) record. Saint Louis is 112-27-9 (.787) since the start of the 2016 season.
•The 2023 season is the 28th in SLU women's soccer history. The Billikens are 315-172-57 (.631), have captured 14 conference championships (seven regular-season, seven tournament), and have made seven NCAA Championship appearances.