KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Saint Louis University graduate goalkeeper Emily Puricelli has been named a "Goalkeeper to Watch" for the 2024 season by United Soccer Coaches.
 
A 2022 United Soccer Coaches third-team All-American, Puricelli has been the starting netminder in all 86 games of her Saint Louis career. She begins her fifth season as the SLU record-holder in wins (67), shutouts (40) and goalkeeper minutes (7,672), as well as second in goals against average (0.645) and saves (265), third in games started (86) and tied for fourth in games played (86) on the Billiken career lists.
 
A year ago, Puricelli turned in a 19-3-2 record, a 0.64 GAA, an .864 save percentage, 11 shutouts and four combined shutouts to help lead the Billikens to Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament championships and their first advancement to the round of 16 in their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
The St. Louis native is one of only nine Billiken women's soccer players to earn four All-Conference honors, three of which have been first-team nods. She was the 2023 A-10 Goalkeeper of the Year in the first season the award was presented, as well as the league's 2020 Defensive Player of the Year. Puricelli has three All-Region selections to her credit, including spots on the 2022 and 2023 first teams, and is a three-time A-10 Championship All-Tournament choice.
 
Puricelli led the A-10 in wins, shutouts and goalkeeper minutes in each of her first four seasons. She set school single-season records of 13 shutouts and 20 wins in 2022, with the 13 clean sheets leading the nation. Puricelli also holds the Saint Louis record for goalkeeper minutes in a season (2049:34 in 2021), and she co-owns the Billikens' record for saves in a game (14 vs. Rutgers in the 2021 NCAA Tournament second round).