SLU WOMEN'S SOCCER GAME NOTES & INFORMATION
Game 6	Saint Louis (3-1-1) at Illinois State (2-1-2)
Date // Time	Thursday, September 3, 2026 // 6 p.m.
Location	Normal, Ill. (Adelaide Street Field)
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Saint Louis | Illinois State

Billiken Statistics
Billiken Schedule
Billiken Roster

BILLIKENS FACE REDBIRDS THURSDAY NIGHT IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS
• Playing the final game of a four-match road stretch, the Saint Louis Billikens (3-1-1) take on the Illinois State Redbirds (2-1-2) of the Missouri Valley Conference Thursday, Sept. 3. Game time at ISU's Adelaide Street Park in Normal, Ill., is 6 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.
• Saint Louis is coming off a 2-0 victory at Indiana on Sunday. The Billikens are 3-0-1 in their last four games, adding wins over Lindenwood (5-0) and Missouri (1-0) and a draw with Illinois (1-1) to Sunday's result.
• Also on Sunday, Illinois State suffered its first defeat of the season when the Redbirds fell 2-0 at Loyola Chicago, a future Atlantic 10 Conference opponent of Saint Louis. ISU owns a 1-0 win over Lindenwood and a 1-1 draw at Big Ten opponent Northwestern.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Saint Louis leads the series with Illinois State 4-2-2 and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in the last four meetings. The Billikens are 1-2-1 vs. the Redbirds in Normal.
• The teams battled to a scoreless draw last year in St. Louis. SLU earned advantages of 15-6 in total shots, 6-1 in shots on goal and 12-2 in corner kicks.
• The Billikens are 38-10-9 all-time vs. MVC teams.
 
TRADITION OF BALANCED SCORING CONTINUING
• The 2026 season is just five games old, but the Billikens already are showing signs of yet another balanced attack. Eight of SLU's 10 goals have been assisted, and all eight have featured a different player combination.
• Five players have combined for the Bills' 10 goals, nine have at least one assist and 12 have at least one point. Audrey Smith leads with four goals, Hope Kim has a team-high three assists, and Jeanette Fieldsend and Leah Simpson have two goals apiece.
 
BILLIKENS IN THE ATLANTIC 10 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
•Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in assists (11), points (31) and goal differential (plus-7) and is tied for the league lead in goals (10).
•The Billikens rank second in the conference in goals against average (0.60) and shutout percentage (.600, three shutouts in five games).
•Audrey Smith is tied for the A10 lead in goals (four), while Hope Kim is tied for first in assists (three); both are tied for 33rd in the nation. Smith is second in the league in points (nine).
 
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' fourth installment featuring the 2005 Billikens, the first team in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
• 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
• Audrey Smith recorded a goal and an assist, Leah Simpson collected her first collegiate game-winning goal, and Saint Louis shut down Indiana 2-0 in Bloomington Aug. 30.
• The Billikens scored the only goal they would need in the 49th minute as Simpson found the back of the net with assists from Smith and Hope Kim.
• Saint Louis netted an insurance goal in the 80th minute. Smith hit the target with an assist from Ava Rademeyer, who posted her first collegiate point.
• Pepper Escher, who went the distance between the posts in her first collegiate start, made one save in posting the first victory and solo shutout of her collegiate career.
 
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 185-66-25 (.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 ILLINOIS STATE
• Illinois State received two first-place votes and landed in second place in the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
• The Redbirds were 8-6-8 overall and 3-2-4 (tied for fourth) in conference play a year ago. They reached the MVC Championship final, falling to Illinois-Chicago in penalties.
• Graduate goalkeeper Madi Valenti and sophomore defender Grace Petrie were selected to the MVC preseason All-Conference team. Valenti posted a school- and conference-record 12 shutouts in 2025 on her way to MVC Goalkeeper of the Year and third-team All-Region honors, while Petrie earned a third-team All-Conference nod.
• Sophomore forward Rylann Law (2G) and junior forward Eve Gricius (1G, 2A) are tied for the team lead with four points apiece.
• Valenti has a 1.00 goals against average, a .722 save percentage and one shutout while playing every minute in goal.