SLU Softball has faced numerous opponents over the last two weeks. The Billikens swept SBU in a doubleheader and split another with Dayton, before losing a pair of games each to No. 19 Arkansas and UMass.

SLU traveled to Dayton on Thursday, Apr. 5. Dayton struck early in the first game, taking a 5-0 lead after four innings. SLU rallied in the fifth with a solo shot from senior infielder Alyssa Tarquinio, followed by an RBI single from senior infielder Allie Macfarlane and a two-RBI single from sophomore designated hitter Kaylea Chappelle. Dayton answered with six runs across the fifth and sixth in the 11-4 loss.

Dayton tallied a run early in game two, but SLU answered with a pair of runs in the second and third. Chappelle hit a two-run dinger in the second, with an RBI double from freshman outfielder Sadie Wise and RBI single from Macfarlane. Dayton added a tally in the sixth, but Tarquinio sent another one out of the park for an insurance tally 5-2 win.

Freshman Sadie Wise broke the single season home run record in a neutral-site sweep of St. Bonaventure on Friday, April 6.

SLU scored seven times in the bottom of the second. Junior catcher Kaylyn Breitbach drove in a run off a single, junior infielder Mackenzie Lawson drove in two off a double, and freshman outfielder Maria Connell drove a sacrifice fly out to center to score another. Junior outfielder Lauren Lomax drove another one in and Wise scored two off a rare two-RBI sacrifice fly. Breitbach scored on an error in the third, with Wise and Macfarlane launching a homer apiece in the fourth for three additional runs in the 11-0 win.

Wise broke the single-season homerun record with a two-run shot in the first, before the Billikens tallied four times in the second—a wild pitch, sacrifice flies from Connell and freshman outfielder Kat Lane, and a Wise RBI single. Connell drove in another in the third, with Macfarlane doubling to clear the bases in the fourth. The Bonnies tallied just once in the fifth in the 10-1 win.

SLU returned to St. Louis for an afternoon doubleheader against No. 19 Arkansas on Tuesday, April 10. The Billikens were shutout 7-0 and 5-0 in the sweep.

Arkansas struck early, with three runs in the first inning, and a pair of runs a piece in the fourth and fifth.

In game two, Arkansas tallied an unearned run in the second, scored another on a solo shot in the fourth, and three more on a three-run homer in the sixth. SLU loaded the bases in the seventh, but Macfarlane was thrown out attempting to score to end the game.

Head Coach Christy Connoyer provided a bit of insight into practice leading up to the Arkansas series. “We worked on what we anticipated seeing…they don’t strike out much, so we knew that we would have to play defense against them.”

SLU traveled to UMass on Saturday, April 14, falling 10-0 and 4-0 in a doubleheader series.

In game one, the Minutewomen batted in a run, but the Billikens committed three errors in the second, which translated to four UMass runs that inning. UMass scored five more times in the opener.

In game two, the game was scoreless until the fifth. UMass tallied four times—a solo shot and a three-run homerun. The Billikens put runners on second and third in the seventh but couldn’t get them across the plate.

Looking to rebound, SLU crossed the Mississippi River for a local game against SIUE on Wednesday, April 18. SLU plated a run in the second, with an RBI double from Breitbach. SIUE threatened in the second, putting a runner on third with nobody out. Freshman catcher Alyssa Chavez and Macfarlane got the runner caught in a pickle, with Macfarlane making the tag. Junior pitcher Kallen Loveless sat down the next batter to end the rally. SIUE threatened again in the fifth with a pair of hits. However, Chavez caught the first runner stealing and Macfarlane snatched a line drive to end the rally. Loveless went the distance in the circle, sitting down five batters in the 1-0 win.

SLU hosts Fordham for a three-game series this weekend. Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s single game both start at noon.

Head Coach Kevin Kalish has been hard at work making some changes around SLU Men’s Soccer. Kalish was named the new head coach of the men back in January and changes are already visible.

During his introductory presser, Kalish stated the team “will be heavily involved in giving back to the community.” This came true only a couple of months after the presser.

Following a 3-2 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday, Mar. 24 to open the spring season, the players waved to the fans and gave them a round of applause as a way of thanking them for coming out. In addition, the team has been in attendance at games other than their own a bit more often than in previous years.

Kalish has enjoyed getting to work with the team thus far. “The mentality of the players and their collective energy’s been nothing short of remarkable. There were some good moments throughout the entire game [against Northern Illinois.]”

The men are on the road on Saturday, Apr. 7, for an early evening tussle with Indiana. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

SLU Softball played host to three foes and ended March at George Mason.

Despite cold rainy weather, the Billikens beat St. Joseph’s 9-1 in five innings on Saturday, March 24.

SLU got to work right off the bat—of senior infielder Allie Macfarlane, who batted in freshman outfielder Kat Lane. The next at bat, freshman catcher Alyssa Chavez sent a three-run blast sailing over the left field wall. SLU led 4-0 at the end of the first. The Hawks put up a sacrifice fly to score their sole run in the top of the second. In the fourth, SLU hit three homers–solo shots from Chavez and sophomore designated hitter Kaylea Chappelle, along with a three-run shot from freshman outfielder Sadie Wise. Baalman gave up an early walk in the fifth but set down the remaining batters on the way to the short-game winner.

The second day of play, Sunday, March 25, however, ended up in a 1-1 split for the Billikens and the Hawks and was more of a “small ball” day.

In game one, Chappelle scored off a throwing error by the left fielder in the second, before the Hawks tallied three in the fifth. Freshman catcher Alyssa Chavez blasted a solo shot over the left center wall in the Billikens’ half of the sixth, but the Hawks added another run in the seventh on their way to taking game one 4-2.

Game two saw the Billikens score early, thanks to a two-run blast from junior infielder Mackenzie Lawson in the second. The Hawks batted in a run in the fourth, but that was their only offense. Macfarlane added a third tally off an RBI double in the fifth on the way to a 3-1 win.

Baalman went the distance in both wins, pitching a combined 12 innings and allowing just two earned runs on four hits. Baalman also walked six and struck out 14 batters across both wins in the St. Joseph series.

According to Baalman, short-gaming the Hawks on Saturday helped her go the distance on Sunday.

Head Coach Christy Connoyer had a different analysis. “That’s a senior that has a ton of experience under her belt and is using that heading into A-10 play.”

It was a quick turnaround for the Billikens, who hosted Missouri State at the Billiken Sports Center on Tuesday, March 28. SLU gave up five runs in the fourth, along with an unearned run in the fifth. SLU tried to mount a rally in the seventh, with a 2 RBI double from junior outfielder Lauren Lomax and a sacrifice fly from freshman infielder Maria Connell. However, the Billikens couldn’t overcome the early deficit, falling 6-3 to the Bears.

SLU took the series against George Mason, winning the first game of the doubleheader on Friday, March 30, and the single game on Saturday, March 31.

In the first game of the doubleheader, George Mason scored a run in the first. SLU battled back with a five-run rally in the third. Lawson started off with a triple, scoring on Connell’s double. Macfarlane and Chappelle chipped in with an RBI each. The Billikens also capitalized off a throwing error, scoring two additional runs. In the fifth, Wise blasted another homer, a solo shot, to pad the lead on the way to a 6-1 victory.

In game two, the offense lacked on both sides. SLU scored their only run in the first. Lomax tripled, with Lane batting her in off a sacrifice fly. Mason scored just two runs in the second, but that ended up being enough in the 2-1 loss.

On Sunday, Apr. 1, the bats came back to life in a 12-2 short-game rout of George Mason. In the first, Wise hit another home run, a two-run blast, followed by a Lawson RBI single. A pair of errors gave the Billikens two runs in the second, along with a Lane sacrifice fly. Connell added an RBI double in the third, which was answered by George Mason in the same inning.

In the fourth, SLU scored five runs off RBI singles from Macfarlane and Chappelle and Junior catcher Kaylyn Breitbach clearing the bases with a three-run shot. George Mason scored a run in the fifth, but SLU held the Patriots to the two lone runs on the way to the win.

SLU heads out to Dayton for a doubleheader on Thursday, Apr. 5. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m. St. Louis time.

Softball posted a 13-11 record in tournament play, before opening up play at the Billiken Sports Center against Murray State and Southern Illinois.

SLU posted a 1-4 record in the Petersen Hotels Invitational, with the sole win coming against Miami (Ohio) on Friday, Feb. 9. SLU posted a 6-0 win, which included freshman infielder Sadie Wise’s first collegiate home run, a 2-run blast in the seventh.

A pair of wins came for the Billikens in the Louisiana Tech Invitational. SLU short-gamed Alcorn State on Friday, Feb. 23, with a 10-2 win. SLU later shut out South Dakota 6-0 on Saturday, Feb. 24.

SLU continued to improve with three wins in the Ole Miss Classic. SLU posted a pair of wins over Chattanooga on Friday, March 2 and Sunday, March 4. The first win, a 5-2 rout, not only included a bases-clearing triple from senior infielder Allie Macfarlane but was also Head Coach Christy Connoyer’s 200th victory as the Billikens’ head coach. The second win over Chattanooga was a bit tighter, at 5-3, but senior pitcher Maddie Baalman pitched her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. Baalman kept Chattanooga from scoring any further in the fifth and seventh. SLU also posted a 5-3 win over UT Martin with Baalman getting a pair of wins to even her record at 4-4 on the year.

SLU posted their best record yet at the EKU Invitational, only losing one of the five games. Wins came against Northern Illinois, Western Carolina and Akron (twice). On Friday, March 9, SLU blanked Northern Illinois 4-0, followed by a 5-1 rout of Western Carolina. Junior designated hitter Kaylyn Breitbach blasted her first homer of the season in the seventh in the first win over Akron on Saturday, March 10. SLU beat Akron 9-7. SLU then short-gamed Akron the next day, Sunday, March 11. SLU hit four homeruns in the 12-2 win.

The final regular-season tournament for the Billikens was the Rock Chalk Challenge, where they posted a 3-2 record. In the first day of play, Friday, March 16, SLU picked up a pair of wins. SLU first beat Western Illinois 5-4, with Wise blasting a two-run shot in the third. In the second game, a 6-4 win over UMKC, Wise blasted a three-run shot in the first. On Sunday, March 18, the Billikens posted a 7-3 win over Murray State, with a solo shot from Wise and a walk-off grand slam from Macfarlane, the fifth of her career.

SLU won the home opener over Murray State, but it was a tight contest.

In the 5-4 win, SLU struck early in the first with a single from junior outfielder Lauren Lomax and freshman outfielder Kat Lane reaching first on an error. Wise brought both of them home on a three-run homer over the center field wall, her ninth of the season. Murray State scored an unearned run in the second, but Lawson answered with a solo shot in the second, her second of the season. SLU’s last bit of offense was a sacrifice fly in the third by senior infielder Allie Macfarlane. Murray State later tallied two runs in the fourth.

Baalman left the game at the end of the fourth and Junior Kallen Loveless pitched three innings of relief. Loveless held Murray State to just a lone unearned run in the sixth and set Murray State down in order in the seventh on the way to her first save of the season.

The momentum didn’t carry over to the game against Southern Illinois on Wednesday, March 21, when the Billikens fell 9-2 to the Salukis.

SIU scored two runs in the first, hit a two-run shot in the third, a solo shot in the fifth and tallied four runs in the sixth. SLU’s offense came to life in the sixth when Wise hit an RBI single with Macfarlane repeating the same feat. This was the only offense for the Billikens.

St. Joseph’s comes to town for a three-game set on Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25. Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s single game both start at noon.

The season ended on a sour note for the Billikens, who dropped two of their last three games prior to the A-10 Tournament.

The sole win was a home game against George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 24, when SLU upended the Colonials 62-53.

Early on, shots didn’t fall for either team. Redshirt junior guard Javon Bess opened scoring at the 18:12 mark with a pair of free throws. The first bucket, a layup, came a minute later from redshirt junior forward D.J. Foreman. The first half was nothing but back-and-forth until the 2:43 mark. A Foreman layup and trey from senior guard Davell Roby put the Billikens ahead 25-19, but a GW answer sent SLU to the half with a 25-22 lead.

Out of the gate in the second half, a layup and dunk from freshman forward Hasahn French built a seven-point cushion. The Colonials rallied, closing within one point at the 9:05 mark. A pair of Roby free throws and a Bess jumper increased the SLU lead back to five points at the 8:04 mark. A trey from sophomore forward Jalen Johnson and pair of French free throws further increased the lead to eight points with 2:39 to play in the half.

SLU was fresh off a heartbreaking loss at Dayton, and the short-handed Billikens started to get fatigued again. Ford took one look at the team during the 8-minute timeout in the second half and knew that he had to “talk them out of it.”

The Billikens traveled to Duquesne for the penultimate regular season game on Wednesday, Feb. 28. SLU ended up losing 76-69.

Duquesne took an early 16-8 lead at the 12:31 mark of the first half. A layup and trey from redshirt senior guard Aaron Hines closed the gap to three points at the 10:36 mark. Duquesne led by as much as 12 points with 4:57 left in the first half, but SLU embarked on an 11-4 run in the final three minutes of the half and went to the locker room trailing by just three points.

SLU ended up taking a late lead in the second half, going ahead 60-57 at the 4:41 mark. Duquesne went on a 9-0 run, and SLU couldn’t come back from the late rally.

The final regular season game for the Billikens was at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday, Mar. 3. St. Bonaventure came to town for Senior Day. The Billikens dropped this game 64-56.

A quick 5-0 rally erased the Bonnies’ early lead, but the Bonnies led by five points at the 8:02 mark. SLU headed to the locker room on the wrong side of a 31-25 margin.

The second half started off terribly for the Billikens, and the Bonnies led by as much as 15 points at the 8:44 mark. SLU mounted a 10-2 run (with a pair of buckets from Bess, and a Hines trey and a pair of layups from Hines) to close within three points with 2:43 left in the game. The Bonnies went to the line four times in the closing minutes and sunk their free throws to start senior day off on a sour note.

In their senior day speeches, both Anthony and Hines thanked the fans for their support.

Anthony said, “I’ve never seen a student section so lit. Thank you for letting me be a Billiken.”

Hines simply stated, “I’d like to thank all the fans for coming out.”

Roby gave a heartfelt speech to the arena, ending with a thank you to Ford, “because [Roby] knows [he] can be a case sometimes.” Roby later explained that his ‘case’ comment refers to a “tough love situation” between himself and Ford.

Ford, who yelled “shut up” to a Bonnies fan and nearly threw a water bottle on the court after a controversial call, expressed his thank you to everybody in the arena. In his senior day speech, Ford told the crowd, “…team blue is about the [players], the managers, the coaches, and all of [the fans]…”

SLU heads to D.C. and will face George Washington in the second round of the A-10 Tournament on Thursday, Mar. 8. SLU’s game will tip at 7:30 p.m. St. Louis time, and will be carried on NBC Sports Network.

Despite Ty Graves withdrawing from SLU a few days prior, SLU Men’s Basketball prevailed over La Salle 70-62 at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday, Feb. 10.

SLU scored twice in the first two minutes, with layups from redshirt junior guard Javon Bess and freshman forward Hasahn French. La Salle struck back with an early jumper and trey, holding a slim lead for five minutes. SLU rallied with a 10-0 run late in the first half to take a 19-12 lead at the 7:30 mark. La Salle got another slim lead in the closing two minutes of the first half, but freshman guard Jordan Goodwin swished a pair of free throws and blocked a La Salle jumper. SLU headed to the locker room, tied 26-26.

The second half started off as a back-and-forth battle, but SLU embarked on another 11-0 run late in the half (with eight of those points from Goodwin). SLU led 52-43 lead at the 8:35 mark and held on for the win. Goodwin set a new career high in points, scoring 28, while French tied the season record for blocks by a freshman (51).

Graduate center Rashed Anthony doesn’t always post big numbers on the stat sheets, but Goodwin credits Anthony with helping him keep his cool. “Rashed is the team god. Sometimes when I get frustrated, he’s the first one to talk to me.”

Head Coach Travis Ford agreed with Goodwin. “[W]hen his name is called, [Anthony]’s going to give it the best he’s got… He gets in the game, and he’s a difference maker.”

Over the course of the game, there were 50 personal fouls called between both teams. Ford remarked that the bulk of them were away from the ball, and “that game must have [taken]  four hours.”

Before SLU traveled to Richmond on Saturday, Feb. 17, Goodwin was suspended for the remainder of the 2017-18 season, leaving the team with just seven scholarship players. Despite losing one of the team’s leading scorers and having limited depth on the bench, SLU pulled off a 72-66 win.

Richmond got on the board early, scoring six points in the opening four minutes of the game. A layup from senior guard Davell Roby ignited a 11-0 SLU run, and the Billikens headed to the locker room with a 30-27 lead.

Richmond came out shooting in the second half, scoring 11 unanswered points in the first five minutes. A pair of French layups and a tip-in from redshirt junior D.J. Foreman brought SLU back on top 40-39 with 13:15 left. A 7-0 SLU run midway through the half stopped the La Salle offense from retaking the lead, and the team hit seven critical free throws in the closing minute to clinch the victory.

SLU’s next game was a quick turnaround, and the team stayed on the road, facing A-10 arch rival Dayton on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Despite spending the bulk of the game in the lead or close to it, the Billikens fell to the Flyers 53-50.

SLU fell behind early in the first half, trailing 6-2 at the 18:33 mark. With a dunk from Foreman as the igniter, SLU went on a 10-2 run throughout the later part of the first half. SLU led 23-14 at the 5:41 mark. SLU kept this nine-point margin at the half off a buzzer beater trey from redshirt senior guard Aaron Hines.

SLU held on to the lead throughout the first part of the second half, but Dayton tied the game at the 10:39 mark, and the lead became another back-and-forth battle. SLU was unable to come back from a late 6-0 rally by the Flyers.

SLU heads home on Saturday, Feb. 24, hosting A-10 foe George Washington for a 7 p.m. tip at Chaifetz Arena.

The Billikens continue to prove themselves in the A-10, posting wins over Dayton and Fordham and a road win at St. Joseph’s before falling to St. Bonaventure.

A-10 rival Dayton came to Chaifetz Arena on Saturday, Jan. 27. The 75-65 win was the first for SLU since January of 2014.

Dayton took an early lead and held it for the bulk of the first half, but the Billikens posted a 10-0 run to take a 28-22 lead with 4:34 left in the first half. SLU held this six-point margin at the half, heading to the locker room with a 36-30 lead.

Dayton tied it up twice in the second half, but SLU took advantage of some Dayton mistakes late in the second half, using an 11-0 run to jump out to a 65-53 lead at the 4:50 mark. Dayton cut the margin back to single digits, but SLU answered back with some free throws and cruised to victory over the Flyers.

Post-game, head coach Travis Ford took the microphone and thanked the season-high 8,500 fans for their continued support of the team. With a lot of emotion, Ford proclaimed, “These are good young men…we’re doing it for the city of St. Louis.”

Ford wanted to address the crowd for no other reason but to thank them. “At 3 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon you could be lots of places… you chose to support this team, it means a lot. We want to do well for the city [of St. Louis].”

Redshirt junior guard Javon Bess, who scored a team-high 20 points, emphasized the team effort on and off the court. “Every day we do it for each other…we came together, we knew we had to get this win.”

Senior guard Davell Roby said the loss to VCU was fatigue, and that the team has to “push through the fatigue and win the game.”

SLU committed just five turnovers, a season low. In addition to his 20 points, Bess shot 3-4 from the charity stripe. Sophomore forward Jalen Johnson came off the bench, chipping in 16 points and shooting 3-5 from the arc. Roby chipped in 14 points, shooting 8-11 from the charity stripe.

SLU hit the road, heading to Philadelphia for a battle with A-10 foe St. Joseph’s. It was a nail-biter, but the Billikens prevailed 60-59 over the Hawks.

SLU built a lead as large as 13 points in the first half, but the Hawks rallied to tie the game in the final minute of the half.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the second half. With the score tied 59-59 and 13 seconds left, Roby was fouled and went to the charity stripe for two shots. Roby missed the first, swooshed the second, and the Hawks were unable to get a shot off after the inbound.

SLU’s success continued on Saturday, Feb. 3, with Fordham coming to town. While the odds were in SLU’s favor, the Rams took an early lead. However, the Billikens rallied in the first half and buckled down at the backboard in the second half, easily cruising to the 73-50 win.

It was a back-and-forth; trading buckets display for the first 15 minutes of the first half. But at the 4:40 mark, SLU held Fordham scoreless for the remainder of the half, embarking on a 15-0 run at the same time, eventually heading to the half with a season-high 37-18 lead.

The second half saw the Billikens out-rebound the Rams 29-11 on the way to the win, with a 7-0 spurt stopping a Rams rally midway through the half.

With French’s performance on the court, he seems to have had no issues transitioning to college life, and even he agreed. According to him, he “went to prep school [and] had good habits, so that carried over [to college].”

The team has worked more closely together over the last few games, and Bess credited this to everybody “play[ing] together and rely[ing] on each other.”

Ford’s beginning to look at the A-10 standings a bit, and he summed up the remaining games by saying “Every game presents a new opportunity, but every game presents a different challenge, too.”

With the win over Fordham, SLU sat half a game out of third place in the A-10 heading into a road battle at St. Bonaventure. The Billikens traveled to Olean, New York on Wednesday, Feb. 7. for a 6 p.m. tip.

It was a slow start for SLU, who committed nine turnovers in the first half. However, a cold first half for St. Bonaventure kept SLU in the game, with the Billikens trailing 36-28 at the half.

A Johnson trey and dunk from redshirt junior D.J. Foreman brought SLU back within four points at the 15:57 mark of the second half. This wouldn’t last, as the Bonnies hit three treys to jump ahead by 15 at the 8:40 mark. SLU couldn’t mount a rally to overcome this deficit, falling 79-56.

La Salle comes to town on Saturday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena.

SLU Men’s Basketball caught fire when students returned to campus, posting wins against A-10 foes Duquesne and UMass before falling in a tight contest against VCU.

The first game of the new semester brought Duquesne to Chaifetz Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 17. It was a night of records, with senior guard Davell Roby scoring his 1,000th career point and freshman guard Jordan Goodwin posting the first triple-double in program history. The 76-63 win was also the 1400th win for the program.

A pair of early treys gave Duquesne a 6-2 lead in the opening three minutes, but SLU rallied with an 8-0 run to lead 16-7 with 11:45 to play in the first half. A 7-0 run late in the first half gave SLU its largest lead of the first half, 29-16, at the 3:35 mark. Duquesne jumped back within nine points, but a trey from redshirt senior guard Aaron Hines in the closing seconds gave SLU a 34-22 lead at the half.

In the second half, SLU led by as much as 23 points twice, before a Duquesne rally cut into the large lead. However, the Billikens hung on in just the second A-10 win of the season.

Roby said that he knew he would make it into the 1,000-point club, but that it was “going to take forever until I hit the second shot.”

Goodwin felt that he was going to get a triple-double that night, even putting it on Snapchat. He was also ready to “go brag to [his] teammates about the triple-double” after the game.

Roby was very confident in Goodwin, predicting that “Goodwin’s going to get another [double-double].”

In addition to the huge offensive spurt, the Billikens played one of their best defensive games up to that point. Head coach Travis Ford thought “it was an aggressive defense tonight.” This defense got Duquesne out of rhythm, which Ford said led to “a lot of good stops.”

The Billikens next traveled to Amherst, facing UMass on Saturday, Jan. 20. This game was a homecoming for Ford, who coached the Minutemen from 2005-2008. Despite the recent decision that one player would be suspended for a year and a half, two for two years, and another expelled from SLU, the Billikens played some of the best basketball this season, giving up a season-low 47 points in the 66-47 win.

SLU never trailed in the game, leading by 11 at the half, and went on a 16-0 run in the second half to easily blow out the Minutemen for the first road win of the season.

Goodwin (19 points, 10 rebounds) and freshman forward Hasahn French (12 points, 10 rebounds) both posted double-doubles, the first pair of freshmen at SLU to record double-doubles in the same game.

SLU next hosted VCU at Chaifetz Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 23. SLU took an early lead and held it for the bulk of the game, but a few VCU runs cut into SLU’s lead. VCU forced overtime with a 61-61 tie and went on a 6-0 run in overtime to seal the 75-74 loss for SLU.

SLU led by as much as 10 in the first half, but VCU went on a 6-4 run to cut the SLU lead to just five points at the half.

SLU caught fire early in the second half, scoring nine early points in the first five minutes. SLU went cold and VCU took advantage, sending the game to overtime with a last-second trey.

In overtime, SLU failed to answer a 6-0 VCU run, leading to the loss.

An emotional Ford really felt the sting of SLU’s fatigue in overtime: “We didn’t show our identity the last 10-12 minutes of the game.”

SLU stays home, hosting conference rival Dayton at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday, Jan. 27. This game is a Saturday afternoon battle with tipoff set for 3 p.m.

It’s a homecoming for new head coach of SLU Men’s Soccer. Kevin Kalish, a SLU alumnus, was introduced as the seventh head coach of SLU Men’s Soccer at Chaifetz Arena on Monday, Jan. 22. Kalish wore the blue and white in 1997 and 1998, also serving as an assistant coach for the Billikens in 1999 and 2000.

SLU Director of Athletics Chris May praised Kalish’s commitment to SLU’s goals and values. “What we really looked for is someone who carried our objectives and values on their sleeve, [and is] really understanding that it’s about the student athlete, how you educate, how you compete, and how you build community.”

Kalish laid out his goals for the program, saying “We will graduate our student athletes, we will win A-10 championships, be in the NCAAs consistently, and we will also be heavily involved in giving back to this great city and community.” According to Kalish, these goals will be accomplished by “…surround[ing] ourselves with great people…” and “…focus[ing] on the future…”

Above all, Kalish is happy to be back at SLU. “I’m excited to be back. As a lifelong St. Louisan and an alum, it’s a dream come true to be a Billiken again.”

Like many of SLU’s athletic teams, engaging the community will be a big part of Kalish’s tenure at SLU. “Anytime you’re building a program, you’ve got to develop relationships and give more than you take, so our staff and players will be heavily involved in the community—not only the external St. Louis community, but the university community.”

Prior to returning to SLU, Kalish was the Vice President and Missouri Boys Club Director for St. Louis Scott Gallagher. Kalish also served as the head coach at SIU Edwardsville from 2008-2013, transitioning the program from NCAA Division II to Division I.

Despite a career-high 27 points from senior guard Davell Roby, SLU Men’s Basketball just couldn’t pull off a win at George Mason on Saturday, Jan. 13. The Billikens fell 86-81.

SLU led throughout the bulk of the first half, leading by as much as 10 points. The Patriots struck back with a quick 6-0 run in the closing minute, taking a one-point lead. SLU responded with a free throw from redshirt junior forward Javon Bess and a trey from senior guard Aaron Hines, taking a 39-38 lead to the locker room.

SLU’s dominance continued throughout the halfway mark of the second half, but Mason capitalized with a 6-0 run during a cold spurt for the Billikens, taking the lead at the 9:04 mark. SLU battled back and tied the game 77-all at the 2:31 mark, but four Mason free throws sealed the fate of the game.

In addition to scoring 27 points, Roby shot 10-13 from the field. Bess chipped in 17 points, shooting 7-10 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Jalen Johnson scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds.

Both the Billikens and students return to Midtown for the next game. SLU hosts Duquesne in an A-10 bout on Wednesday, Jan. 17, for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Chaifetz Arena.