SLU WOMEN'S SOCCER GAME NOTES & INFORMATION
Game 10	Saint Louis (5-2-2, 1-0 A10) at Dayton (4-5, 1-0 A10)
Date // Time	Thursday, September 24, 2026 // 6 p.m. CT
Location	Dayton, Ohio (Baujan Field)
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Saint Louis | Dayton

Billiken Statistics
Billiken Schedule
Billiken Roster

ARCHRIVALS SAINT LOUIS, DAYTON BATTLE THURSDAY NIGHT IN OHIO
• The teams predicted to finish 1-2 in the 2026 Atlantic 10 Conference women's soccer race square off Thursday, Sept. 24, as the Dayton Flyers (4-5, 1-0 A10) host the Saint Louis Billikens (5-2-2, 1-0 A10) to begin the second half of the regular season. Game time is 6 p.m. Central.
• The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats are available. See the links above.
• Saint Louis (three first-place votes, 182 points) was picked to finish second in the league in the A10 preseason coaches' poll. Dayton, the 2025 regular-season and tournament champion, received the favorite's nod with nine first-place votes and 188 points.
• The Billikens began conference play last Saturday by overwhelming VCU 7-1 at Hermann Stadium. The Flyers come in seeking a third straight win after edging Ball State 1-0 in their non-conference finale and routing St. Bonaventure 5-0 in their A10 opener.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• The Saint Louis-Dayton series dates to 2005. SLU leads 13-11-5 overall and is 11-1-3 in the last 15 meetings.
• The Billikens lead 6-4-3 in games played in Dayton.
• Dayton's 2-0 victory in St. Louis a year ago was its first win vs. SLU since Nov. 3, 2016, and first at Hermann Stadium since 2015.
• The Billikens last defeated the Flyers on Nov. 6, 2022, a 4-0 triumph in the A-10 Championship final in St. Louis. The teams tied the next two meetings prior to Dayton's 2025 win.
• Saint Louis and Dayton have combined to capture 20 A10 tournament titles (UD 11, SLU 9) and 19 regular-season championships (UD 12, SLU 7). The Billikens have won seven of the last eight tournaments and six of the last eight regular-season crowns.
• In last year's game, Laney Smith and Liv Grenda had a goal and an assist apiece as Dayton scored twice in the first 23 minutes.
 
SAINT LOUIS, DAYTON IN THE NATIONAL PICTURE
• Saint Louis landed at No. 70 and Dayton checked in at No. 81 in the first NCAA Division I Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of the season released Sept. 21.
• The Billikens are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national poll and are ranked No. 1 in the East Region.
• SLU faced three RPI top-60 teams in non-conference play – Alabama (No. 8), Kansas (No. 53) and Illinois (No. 60).
• Dayton's non-conference slate included West Virginia (No. 13), Xavier (No. 26), Louisville (No. 31) and Kentucky (No. 50).
 
TRADITION OF BALANCED SCORING CONTINUING
• Midway through the 2026 season, the Billikens are again featuring their traditional balanced attack. Seventeen of SLU's 22 goals have been assisted, and all 17 have featured a different player combination.
• Nine players have combined for the Bills' 22 goals, 14 have at least one assist and 16 have at least one point. Audrey Smith leads with seven goals and 15 points (both career highs), while Hope Kim and Ashley Miller have a team-high four assists.
 
BILLIKENS IN THE ATLANTIC 10, NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in assists (24 – 18th nationally), goal differential (plus-16 – 24th nationally), points (68 – 30th nationally) and goals (22 – 38th nationally).
• The Billikens are second in the league in win-loss-tie percentage (.667), goals against average (0.67 – 43rd nationally) and corner kicks per game (6.33 – 51st nationally).
• SLU ranks third in the A10 in shots on goal per game (6.89), and fourth in total shots per game (14.22) and shutout percentage (.444, four shutouts in nine games).
• Audrey Smith leads the A10 with seven goals and 15 points, tying for 19th and tying for 38th, respectively, in the nation. Smith's two game-winning goals are tied for first in the conference and tied for 42nd nationally.
• Pepper Escher is second in the league and tied for 36th nationally in goals against average (0.55). Escher is fourth in the A10 and tied for 29th nationally in save percentage (.857).
• Hope Kim and Ashley Miller are tied for second in the A10 and tied for 50th nationally in assists (four).
 
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' seventh installment featuring three-time conference Defensive Player of the Year Courtney Hulcer.
• 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
• Three players scored two goals apiece as SLU enjoyed a season-high offensive output in a 7-1 home rout of VCU Sept. 19, tying the program record for most goals vs. an A10 opponent.
• Lucie Schwartz, Caroline Chier and Addison Stanciak each recorded their first collegiate career brace, and Ashley Miller registered her first two-assist game as a Billiken.
• Schwartz's unassisted goal in the 15th minute gave the Bills a 1-0 lead. VCU posted an equalizer in the 23rd minute, but it was all Saint Louis after that.
• Chier (Adee Broesder, Miller) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 29th minute, and Stanciak (Miller) made it 3-1 in the 38th minute.
• Schwartz (unassisted) opened the second-half scoring in the 54th minute. Audrey Smith (Leah Simpson) hit the target in the 55th minute, while Chier (Jeanette Fieldsend, Hope Kim) and Stanciak (unassisted) completed their braces in the 61st and 66th minutes, respectively.
 
HEAD COACH KATIE SHIELDS
• Now in her 14th season as Saint Louis' head coach, Katie Shields owns a 187-67-26 (.714) 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 DAYTON
• Dayton was 15-4-3 overall and 10-0 in the A10 in 2025. After advancing past Rhode Island on penalty kicks in the A-10 Championship final, the Flyers fell to Xavier in the NCAA Championship first round.
• Among the key players who returned from last year's team is junior Liv Grenda, the 2025 A10 Midfielder of the Year. Grenda was a first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Region selection.
• Junior forward Laney Smith also was an All-Conference (first team) and All-Region (fourth team) performer a year ago.
• Senior defender Lauren Fields and junior defenders Bre Mendoza and Mackenzie Russell were second-team All-Conference honorees. Sophomore forwards Ky Hau-Golden and Emery Newlin and sophomore defender Caroline Schork made the A10 All-Rookie team.
• Redshirt-junior forward Olivia Baca has a team-high three goals, while Smith and freshman forward Reese Gallagher have two apiece. Schork and junior midfielder Lauryn Contini share the team assist lead with three.
• Redshirt-junior Kasey Cannistraro (1.78 GAA, .652 save percentage) and junior Avery Strohecker (2.67 GAA, .500 save percentage) have split goalkeeping duties evenly, logging 405 minutes apiece.