SLU men’s soccer team gets home game against Memphis in NCAA Tournament

With Monday’s NCAA Field announcement, SLU has officially hosted its 50th tournament, more than any other program in the country.

And Billikens senior forward John Klein was there to celebrate the moment his grandfather enjoyed as did the rest of his family.

“I remember getting into games when I was five or six and streaming games when I was older,” says Klein. “It’s always been a part of my life.”

In its 50th trip, SLU will play its first-round home game against Memphis at 7 p.m. give.

If the Billiken (11-4-3) make it through the first round, they will face another legendary college program. Indiana, who will be competing in the 47th edition, is waiting for a winner.

Klein deserves to represent SLU this season not only because his grandfather was on the team when the team won two national titles. His father, John, played for the program in his mid-1980s, and his great-uncle Tom was with the Billikens in their early years.

“Think of all the great teams we’ve had throughout the history of the program.

Few programs in any sport have more than NCAA appearances. Kentucky is #1 in basketball with 59 players in the tournament, which has been going on for over 20 years. In baseball, Texas leads with 60.

SLU had been out of the tournament for several years when Kalish was hired. He welcomed the Billikens to his 2021 field for the first time in six years and they advanced to the Elite Eight. In his 1990s, when the Billikens last reached the Final Four, he was a member of his NCAA team at school.

This year’s team doesn’t have the same expectations, but SLU is on a strong trajectory, going unbeaten in their last eight games. The Billikens have gone from his 1-3 start to 10-1-3, including losses against his three NCAA Tournament teams (Lipscombe, Louisville and Southern Methodists). They beat Clayton, who is also on the field.

“We are solid,” Karish said. “Every game, someone stepped up and played at a different moment. There is

SLU received a bye last season and was hoping to do so again, but a 1-3 start to the season was too much to overcome in that regard.

Memphis (9-5-4) lost to the Florida International in the American Athletic Conference tournament. The SLU women’s team also drew in her first-round match against Memphis before losing to the Tigers on Saturday.

SLU was a completely different team last season, but played Memphis and won 3-0. The Tigers defeated the Billikens in 2018 and 2019.

If he gets a chance to play in Indiana, there will be a meeting of college soccer champions. The team played as part of the offseason spring schedule and finished in a draw.

SLU confirmed its entry into the tournament by winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Championship Game on Sunday. But Kalish hopes we’re nearing a time when the league will be seriously considered for multiple teams on the field.

“Unfortunately, A-10 was a one-team conference, and that was the concept,” says Kalish. “Within the league, over the past few years we have continued to build to be a multi-bid league. We have enough programs to do that.”