SLU WOMEN'S SOCCER GAME NOTES & INFORMATION
Game 16	Saint Louis (9-2-4, 5-0-2 A10) at La Salle (7-4-4, 4-1-2 A10)
Date // Time	Thursday, October 22, 2026 // 6 p.m. CT
Location	Philadelphia, Pa. (McCarthy Stadium)
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	SIDEARM
Game Notes	Saint Louis

Billiken Statistics
Billiken Schedule
Billiken Roster

TWO-GAME ROAD TRIP BEGINS AT LA SALLE THURSDAY NIGHT
• The Saint Louis Billikens (9-2-4, 5-0-2 A10) look to maintain their hold on first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference when they face the La Salle Explorers (7-4-4, 4-1-2 A10) Thursday, Oct. 22. First whistle at McCarthy Stadium in Philadelphia is slated for 6 p.m. Central.
• The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats are available. See the links above.
• With three games remaining, SLU holds a one-point lead over Rhode Island and a three-point edge on La Salle in the league standings. A win or draw Thursday clinches a spot in the A10 Championship for the Billikens.
• Most recently, Saint Louis blanked Richmond 2-0 at home on Saturday to remain undefeated in conference play. A 2-2 draw at Fordham the following day snapped La Salle's winning streak at three and dropped the Explorers out of a second-place tie with Rhode Island, which handed La Salle its only league loss (3-2).
• Thursday's game features two of the A10's top offensive forces. La Salle's Justyce Hollenbach leads the conference with 12 goals, while SLU's Audrey Smith is tied for second with eight.
• Saint Louis was predicted to finish second in this year's A10 race, while La Salle placed eighth in the league's preseason poll.
• SLU and La Salle are battling for the conference lead for a second time in four seasons. In 2023, the Billikens (9-0-1) and Explorers (8-1-1) finished 1-2 in the A10 regular-season race.
• Thursday's game is SLU's 300th conference match. The Billikens are 194-72-33 (.704) all-time (Conference USA 1996-2004, A10 since 2005).
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Saint Louis leads La Salle 10-2-3 in a series that began in 2005. The Billikens are 3-0-1 vs. the Explorers in Philadelphia.
• SLU has won the last eight meetings with La Salle; five of those victories have been shutouts. The Bills outscored the Explorers 26-3 in those eight contests.
• La Salle's only two series wins came in 2011 and 2014.
• The Billikens won 4-0 last year in St. Louis, earning advantages of 25-5 in total shots, 12-0 in shots on goal and 4-0 in corner kicks. Blakely Hockett, Audrey Smith and Adee Broesder were among the goal-scorers, and Caroline Chier had an assist.
 
SAINT LOUIS IN THE NATIONAL PICTURE
• Through games of Oct. 20, SLU checked in at No. 44 in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), tops among A10 teams.
• Two of the Billikens' non-conference opponents are among the top 15 in the RPI – Alabama (No. 7) and Kansas (No. 15).
• SLU is rated No. 4 in the East Region by United Soccer Coaches.
 
DEFENSE ON TRACK TO BE ONE OF PROGRAM'S BEST
• Saint Louis allowed just eight goals in its first 15 games. That ties for the second fewest scored by Billiken opponents in the first 15 games of a season in program history.
• SLU conceded only five goals in non-conference play, matching the 2022 Billikens for fewest goals allowed by a Saint Louis team in an eight-game non-conference schedule.
• The Billikens have yielded more than one goal just once this season, falling 2-1 to Alabama in the season opener.
 
TRADITION OF BALANCED SCORING CONTINUING
• Through 15 games of the 2026 season, the Billikens are featuring yet another balanced attack. Twenty-four of SLU's 31 goals have been assisted; 23 different player combinations have accounted for those 24 goals.
• Twelve players have combined for the Bills' 31 goals, 16 have at least one assist and 17 have at least one point. Audrey Smith leads with eight goals and 18 points (both career highs), while Ashley Miller has a team- and career-high five assists. Hope Kim joins Smith in double figures with four goals and four assists for 12 points, all tying her career highs, as does Lucie Schwartz with career bests of four goals, two assists and 10 points.
 
BILLIKENS IN THE ATLANTIC 10, NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in goal differential (plus-23 – 14th nationally), goals against average (0.53 – 16th nationally), win-loss-tie percentage (.733 – 34th nationally), goals (31 – 47th nationally) and shots on goal per game (7.20 – 50th nationally).
• The Billikens are second in the league in assists (31 – 31st nationally), shutout percentage (.533, eight shutouts in 15 games – 33rd nationally), points (93 – 40th nationally) and corner kicks per game (5.80). SLU is third in save percentage (.830 – 40th nationally) and shots per game (15.20).
• Pepper Escher leads the A10 in goals against average (0.44 – 11th nationally) and save percentage (.865 – 20th nationally) and is second in shutouts (six – 42nd nationally).
• Audrey Smith is tied for second in the conference in goals (eight – tied for 50th nationally) and third in points (18).
• Ashley Miller (five) and Hope Kim (four) are tied for third and tied for seventh, respectively, in assists.
 
SAINT LOUIS CELEBRATING 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF WOMEN'S SOCCER PROGRAM'S INCEPTION
• The 2026 season marks the 30th anniversary of the beginning of Billiken women's soccer.
• SLUBillikens.com is featuring once-a-week stories highlighting the program's 11 members of the Billiken Hall of Fame. Click here to read the series' final installment featuring Alli Klug, the first two-time All-American in program history.
• The Billikens played their first game on Aug. 31, 1996, defeating Central Missouri 9-0.
 
BILLIKENS LAND IN SECOND PLACE IN A-10 PRESEASON POLL
• Saint Louis was picked to finish second in the 2026 Atlantic 10 Conference women's soccer race in preseason balloting by A-10 head coaches. The Billikens received three of 14 first-place votes and totaled 182 of a possible 196 points.
• Graduate defender Camille Welker and sophomore defender Blakely Hockett were selected to the 11-member preseason All-Conference team.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Ava Rademeyer and Audrey Smith had a goal apiece for Saint Louis in the Billikens' 2-0 victory over Richmond Oct. 17.
• Rademeyer scored in the 17th minute, teaming up with Caroline Fowlkes on a corner kick for a second time in three games. Richmond goalkeeper Veronica Rrapi was unsuccessful in her attempt to punch Fowlkes' line-drive service out of harm's way, and Rademeyer headed in the deflection from close range.
• Smith's goal, her team-leading eighth of the year, came in the 64th minute. Nina Preusser fired a shot that hit the crossbar, and Smith volleyed the rebound into the lower right corner.
• Pepper Escher made two saves in posting her sixth shutout and the team's eighth clean sheet of 2026.
 
HEAD COACH KATIE SHIELDS
• Now in her 14th season as Saint Louis' head coach, Katie Shields owns a 191-67-28 (.717) overall record (all at Saint Louis). Shields' .716 winning percentage at the beginning of the season ranked sixth among all active NCAA Division I women's soccer coaches, and second among active Division I female coaches, who have coached a minimum of five seasons at the Division I level.
 
SCOUTING LA SALLE
• With three regular-season games left, La Salle already has matched its 2025 win totals. Last year, the Explorers were 7-8-3 overall and 4-4-2 (eighth) in the A10. They fell to Dayton in the A10 Championship quarterfinals.
• In conference play, La Salle owns victories over Davidson, Dayton, Richmond and VCU. The Explorers tied Loyola Chicago and Fordham and lost to Rhode Island.
• Among the Explorers' returning players from last season is sophomore forward Kayden Williams, an A10 All-Rookie honoree.
• La Salle leads the league in assists (41, tied for seventh nationally) and is tied with Saint Louis atop the A10 goals chart (31).
• Graduate forward Justyce Hollenbach leads the A10 and is tied for 11th in the nation with 12 goals. Hollenbach also leads the league and ranks 10th nationally with 2.27 shots on goal per game.
• Junior midfielder Ella Cadigan tops the conference and is tied for third nationally with 10 assists. Senior defender Rylee Henson is second in the A10 with six assists.
• Other strong offensive contributors are freshman forward/midfielder Shiloh Moore (5G, 4A) and junior forward/midfielder Alexis Garcia (5G).
• Junior Samantha Widnick has played all but 27 minutes in goal. Widnick carries a 1.84 goals against average and a .625 save percentage.