SLU WOMEN'S SOCCER GAME NOTES & INFORMATION
Game 8	Saint Louis (4-1-2) vs. NR/#20 Kansas (5-2)
Date // Time	Saturday, September 12, 2026 // 3:30 p.m.
Location	St. Louis, Mo. (Robert R. Hermann Stadium)
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Saint Louis | Kansas

Billiken Statistics
Billiken Schedule
Billiken Roster

BILLIKENS WRAP UP NON-CONFERENCE SLATE VS. JAYHAWKS
• The Saint Louis Billikens (4-1-2) conclude their non-conference schedule Saturday, Sept. 12, against the Kansas Jayhawks (5-2) of the Big 12 Conference. Game time at Robert R. Hermann Stadium is 3:30 p.m.
• The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats are available. See the links above.
• SLU received a vote in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. The Billikens are ranked No. 1 in the East Region.
• Kansas holds the No. 20 ranking in the Top Drawer Soccer national poll. The Jayhawks are No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches Midwest Region rankings.
• Saint Louis breezed past Southeast Missouri State 4-0 Wednesday night at Hermann Stadium to stretch its unbeaten streak to six games.
• Kansas is playing its first game since defeating Kansas City 3-0 Sept. 3 for its second consecutive victory. The Jayhawks also have wins over Utah State, Missouri State, Kent State and Tulsa as well as losses to Utah Valley and nationally ranked Ohio State.
 
SLU ATHLETICS ADMISSION SPECIALS FOR SATURDAY
• The Saint Louis Department of Athletics is offering two admission specials for Saturday's game vs. Kansas.
• Youth Soccer Day will be celebrated at Hermann Stadium. All youth soccer players who wear their club jersey to the game will receive free admission.
• Also on Saturday, the Billiken men's team hosts Akron at 7 p.m. Fans who purchase tickets online by clicking here receive admission to both games for the price of one ticket.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Kansas leads the series with Saint Louis 5-2-1. However, the Billikens are 2-0-1 vs. the Jayhawks in St. Louis.
• The most recent meeting occurred in 2024, a 1-0 SLU win at Hermann Stadium in an NCAA Championship first-round game.
• The teams also met in an NCAA first-round match in 2018, won by Kansas 2-1 in double overtime in Lawrence.
• In 2017, the Billikens and Jayhawks fought to a 1-1 draw in front of 5,205 fans, which remains the largest crowd to watch a women's college soccer game in Missouri.
• Here is the complete series history:
                             9/1/00 – at SLU 3, Kansas 2
                             10/30/01 – at Kansas 3, SLU 0
                             9/5/04 – at Kansas 2, SLU 0
                             9/8/17 – at SLU 1, Kansas 1
                             9/14/18 – at Kansas 3, SLU 2
                             11/9/18 – at Kansas 2, SLU 1
                             8/26/21 – at Kansas 2, SLU 0
                             11/15/24 – at SLU 1, Kansas 0
 
BILLS MAKE HERMANN STADIUM A SOCCER FORTRESS
• Saint Louis is 88-12-13 (.836) in its last 113 games on the home pitch of Robert R. Hermann Stadium, a stretch that dates to the final home game of the 2015 campaign.
• In those 113 games, SLU outscored opponents 259-49, posted 72 shutouts and allowed more than one goal just six times.
 
TRADITION OF BALANCED SCORING CONTINUING
• The 2026 season is just seven games old, but the Billikens already are showing signs of yet another balanced attack. Thirteen of SLU's 15 goals have been assisted, and all 13 have featured a different player combination.
• Seven players have combined for the Bills' 15 goals, 12 have at least one assist and 15 have at least one point. Audrey Smith leads with six goals and 13 points (both career highs), and Hope Kim has a team-high three assists.
 
BILLIKENS IN THE ATLANTIC 10, NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in points (48 – 33rd nationally), goal differential (plus-11 – 36th nationally) and goals (15 – 46th nationally).
• The Billikens are second in the league in assists (18 – 20th nationally) and goals against average (0.57 – 39th nationally).
• SLU ranks third in the A10 in shutout percentage (.571, four shutouts in seven games – 46th nationally), corner kicks per game (6.57), shots on goal per game (7.0) and total shots per game (14.0).
• Audrey Smith leads the A10 with six goals and 13 points, tying for 13th and tying for 21st, respectively, in the nation. Smith's two game-winning goals are tied for first in the conference and tied for 22nd nationally.
• Pepper Escher ranks second in the league and tied for 14th nationally in goals against average (0.29). Escher is third in the A10 and tied for 28th nationally in save percentage (.889).
• Hope Kim is tied for second in the A10 in assists (three).
 
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.
• SLU's Saturday, Oct. 17, game vs. Richmond will include a 30th anniversary celebration, coupled with the return of Billiken women's soccer alumni.
• Also, 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' fifth installment featuring Jamie Perry, one of the most prolific offensive players 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
• Adee Broesder registered her first collegiate brace, Pepper Escher made a career-high five saves, and Saint Louis shut out Southeast Missouri State 4-0 Sept. 9 at Hermann Stadium.
• Audrey Smith and Nina Preusser scored a goal apiece for the Billikens, while five different players recorded an assist – Lucie Schwartz, Camille Welker, Ashley Miller, Ava Scorfina and Jeanette Fieldsend.
 
A LOOK AT THE 2026 BILLIKENS
• Among the Billikens' returning players is sophomore midfielder/forward Caroline Chier (1G, 6A), the 2025 A-10 co-Rookie of the Year. Sophomore forward Adee Broesder (5G, 3A), SLU's leading returning point-scorer, and sophomore defender Blakely Hockett (2G) joined Chier on the All-Rookie team.
• Also back this season are key offensive threats in junior forwards Hope Kim (4G, 4A) and Audrey Smith (5G, 1A) and senior midfielder Lucie Schwartz (3G, 1A).
• Junior goalkeeper Emma Parker (0.92 GAA, .721 save percentage) returns after starting all 20 games a year ago, joining first XI mainstays in graduate defender Camille Welker (20 starts) and junior midfielder Ashley Miller (19 starts).
• Also returning are senior midfielder Nina Preusser, junior goalkeeper Nimu Karani, sophomore midfielder/defender Ava Rademeyer, sophomore forward Addison Stanciak and sophomore defender Ava Scorfina.
• Eleven newcomers – four transfers and seven freshmen – joined the Billiken program this year. The transfers are senior midfielder Jeanette Fieldsend (James Madison), senior defender Caroline Fowlkes (College of Charleston), sophomore goalkeeper Pepper Escher (Massachusetts) and sophomore defender Avery Rasmussen (Kansas). The Saint Louis freshman class consists of defender Hana Allen, forward Keira Bartholet, forward Gianna Harris, defender Lucy Marsh, forward/midfielder Emma Naftanel, forward Leah Simpson and defender Lauren Zangara.
 
HEAD COACH KATIE SHIELDS
• Now in her 14th season as Saint Louis' head coach, Katie Shields owns a 186-66-26 (.716) 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 KANSAS
• Kansas landed in a third-place tie with West Virginia in the 2026 Big 12 Conference preseason poll, trailing TCU and Colorado.
• The Jayhawks were 16-6-3 overall and 6-4-1 in conference play (seventh) a season ago. They played in the Big 12 Championship final for a second straight year, falling to BYU before reaching the NCAA Championship round of 16 by defeating California Baptist and Louisville.
• Kansas captured the 2024 Big 12 Championship title and was eliminated by Saint Louis, 1-0, in an NCAA Championship first-round game at Hermann Stadium.
• This season, Kansas ranks second in the nation in corner kicks per game (10.29), fourth in shots per game (21.29), 20th in assists (18), 22nd in shots on goal per game (8.86), 23rd in goal differential (plus-13) and 26th in goals (18). The Jayhawks allowed only five goals, 33 total shots, 21 shots on goal and 11 corner kicks in their first seven games.
• Senior defender/midfielder Caroline Castans and junior midfielder Jillian Gregorski were selected to the Big 12 preseason All-Conference team after earning 2025 All-Conference first-team and second-team honors, respectively. Castans garnered a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-America fourth team, and this year she appears on the Hermann Trophy Watch List for a second consecutive season.
• Senior goalkeeper Sophie Dawe was a 2025 fourth-team All-Region choice, while sophomore midfielder/forward Kate Langfelder made the All-Conference second team.
• Castans and Gregorski have a team-high four goals apiece. Fifth-year midfielder Livvy Moore is tied for fourth nationally with six assists, and junior midfielder London De Fini is tied for 20th with four helpers.
• Dawe has played all but 1:09 in goal and has a 0.72 goals against average and a .762 save percentage.