The SLU Billikens won their second straight Atlantic 10 Conference championship last season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
NEWPORT NEWS, VA — The Saint Louis University men’s soccer team was the near-unanimous pick to win the 2023 Atlantic 10 Conference title in balloting conducted by the league’s coaches that was announced by the league office on Monday.
Additionally, the A-10 released its 11-man Preseason All-Conference team, which included Saint Louis players Christian Buendia and Diego Konincks. Buendia is entering his fourth playing season at SLU and is a two-time first-team All-Conference selection (2020 and 2022). He has started 55 matches throughout his career and has tallied 20 points (7 goals and 6 assists).
Konincks transferred to SLU in the offseason and figures to be a big piece on the Billikens’ backline. He was a three-team first-team All-Big South selection at Campbell.
Saint Louis, which has won the A-10 regular season and tournament championships each of the last two years, brings back 16 players from last year’s squad (including six starters), which went 12-5-3 overall and 6-1-1 in conference play. The Billikens reached the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship last year, before being defeated by eventual national runner-up Indiana.
Coached by two-time defending A-10 Coach of the Year, Kevin Kalish, Saint Louis received 13 of a possible 14 first-place votes and a league-best 195 points in the A-10 preseason balloting. Dayton was second with 161 points, followed by Loyola Chicago (which received the other first-place vote), VCU, and Duquesne, for third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively.
The 2023 Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer season officially kicks off on Thursday, August 24, with all 14 programs getting underway on the opening day of action. Conference play begins on Friday, Sept. 15 before the league concludes the campaign with the 2023 Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer Championship, set for Nov. 3-12 on the campuses of the highest-seeded institutions.
SLU will begin its season Thursday night at Hermann Stadium, with a game against Big East Conference powerhouse Butler. Opening kick for that match is set for 7:30 p.m.
2023 A-10 Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
| School (First-Place Votes) | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Saint Louis (13) | 195 |
| 2. | Dayton | 161 |
| 3. | Loyola Chicago (1) | 158 |
| 4. | VCU | 146 |
| 5. | Duquesne | 144 |
| 6. | Rhode Island | 131 |
| 7. | Massachusetts | 112 |
| 8. | Fordham | 100 |
| t-9 | Davidson | 75 |
| t-9 | Saint Joseph’s | 75 |
| 11. | George Washington | 60 |
| 12. | La Salle | 52 |
| 13. | George Mason | 44 |
| 14. | St. Bonaventure | 17 |
2023 A-10 Men’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team
| Name | Class | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denis Krioutchenkov | SO | F | Davidson |
| Maxi Hopfer | JR | F | Duquesne |
| Alec Hughes | SR | F | Massachusetts |
| Basit Umar | SO | MF | Dayton |
| Ask Ekeland | SO | MF | Duquesne |
| Marc Torrellas | GR | MF | Loyola Chicago |
| Christian Buendia | r-JR | MF | Saint Louis |
| Timo Hummrich | GR | D | Fordham |
| Julian Cisneros | r-JR | D | Loyola Chicago |
| Diego Konincks | SR | D | Saint Louis |
| Dario Caetano | SR | GK | Dayton |