The Saint Louis U. Billikens have won 10 matches in a row and are a No. 6 seed in the tournament. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| SLU WOMEN’S SOCCER GAME NOTES & INFORMATION | |
| Game 22 | Indiana (12-3-4) at Saint Louis (17-2-2) |
| Date // Time | Friday, November 10, 2023 // 7 pm |
| Location | St. Louis, Mo. (Robert R. Hermann Stadium) |
| NCAA Digital Program | Program |
| Watch | ESPN+ |
| Live Stats | NCAA.com |
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS, MO — The Saint Louis University women’s soccer team will make its sixth straight, and eighth overall, appearance in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, Friday night, when it hosts a first round game against Big 10 powerhouse Indiana University. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Saint Louis, which won the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season title for a fifth time in the last six years, earned the league’s automatic bid by winning the A-10 tournament championship last weekend. It was SLU’s sixth consecutive conference tournament title.
The Billikens will come into tonight’s matchup with a 17-2-2 overall record, which includes a current 10-game winning and shutout streak, and a 16-game (14-0-2) unbeaten streak. SLU’s last loss came on August 31.
Indiana, which earned an at-large bid into the national championship tournament, has a 12-3-4 record and finished fifth in the Big 10.
SLU and Indiana have played three times previously, with both teams earning a win and the teams playing to a tie in 1999.
Saint Louis is 71-8-7 (.866) in its last 86 games on the Hermann Stadium home pitch, a stretch that dates to the final home game of the 2015 campaign. In those 86 games, SLU outscored opponents 205-33, posted 55 shutouts, and allowed more than one goal just twice. This season, the Billikens are 9-1-1 with eight clean sheets and a 41-3 scoring advantage at Hermann.
Players to Watch: With 27 goals between them, A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Emily Gaebe (15) and first-team All-Conference selection Caroline Kelly (12) have combined for more goals this season than any duo in Saint Louis women’s soccer history. Gaebe and Kelly are tied with Towson for the fourth-highest total in NCAA Division I behind combos from Texas (41), Nebraska (37), and Grand Canyon and Utah Valley (28).
A-10 Goalkeeper of the Year Emily Puricelli carries an .895 save percentage (fourth nationally) and a 0.50 goals against average (11th). Puricelli has not allowed a goal in her last 877:23 of action.
Abbie Miller will play in her 106th game as a Billiken Friday night, breaking the program record set by Hannah Friedrich.
Indiana is led by two first-team All-Conference selections in junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg, who also was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, and graduate forward Paige Webber. Gerstenberg has 10 shutouts, a 0.76 goals against average and a .770 save percentage, while Webber leads the Hoosiers with 12 goals.
Senior midfielder Anna Bennett has a team-high nine assists, and freshman defender Piper Coffield made the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Up Next: The winner of Friday’s matchup will play the winner of the Georgetown-Old Dominion first round game, which is being played on Saturday at Georgetown’s Shaw Field. The second round contest will be hosted by the highest seeded team, next Friday, November 17.
