Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament champion Saint Louis hosts the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship at Hermann Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+, with Dan Bettlach and Bill McDermott on the call.
The winner of Thursday's match advances to face No. 6-overall seed Indiana on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) in Bloomington, Ind.
ABOUT SAINT LOUIS
The Billikens (10-2-7 overall) are unbeaten in their last 10 matches. They are coming off a thrilling A-10 title game where they beat Dayton in PKs after a 1-1 draw in regulation and overtime.Â
This is Saint Louis' 52nd NCAA Men's Soccer Championship appearance, an NCAA record. The Bills have qualified for the NCAAs in four of the last five seasons. SLU has won an NCAA-record 10 national championships.
Theo Franca leads the Billikens with five goals, three of them game-winners. He scored the second-half equalizer against Dayton in the A-10 final that helped SLU capture the A-10 crown. Andrew Heckenlaible (2G, 3A) and Abdoul Karim Pare (3G, 1A) have seven points apiece.
Jeremi Abonnel, the A-10 Goalkeeper of the Year, has played every minute in goal and is tied for fourth in the country with 10 shutouts. He has registered 23 career shutouts in just 50 games played. Abonnel is 10th in the NCAA in goals against average (0.62) and 19th in save percentage (.806).
The Billikens are unbeaten at Hermann Stadium (7-0-6) this season. SLU is 36-3-19 on its home field over the last five years.
Head coach Kevin Kalish, the A-10 Coach of the Year, is in his eighth season at Saint Louis (79-33-34) and 14th season overall (128-79-48). This is the fourth NCAA Tournament for Kalish as a head coach. In 2021, he led the Billikens to the NCAA quarterfinals.
ABOUT KENTUCKY
The Wildcats (10-3-5) are making their 15th NCAA Men's Soccer Championship appearance and the seventh in the last eight seasons.
Kentucky captured the Sun Belt Conference's regular-season crown, rolling through league play with a 7-1-1 record. In the SBC tournament, the Wildcats prevailed over Coastal Carolina in a shootout, but fell 1-0 in the semifinals to UCF.Â
Alex Ruiz leads the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points (7G, 4A). Isaiah Chisolm (6G, 1A) follows with 13 points.
In goal, Sebastian Conlon has played every minute and sports a 0.88 goals against average. He was named the Sun Belt's Goalkeeper of the Year in each of the last two seasons.
Head Coach Johan Cedegren is in his 14th season at Kentucky with a 156-73-48 overall record. He has led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in 11 of his 14 seasons. Â
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the second meeting all-time against the Billikens and Wildcats.
The squads met 25 years ago – almost to the date – on Nov. 18, 2000, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Following a scoreless draw, the Wildcats advanced in the NCAAs by winning a PK shootout, 4-2.
