SLU’s big soccer weekend moves them into top 10 (updated)

SLU will move up a spot or two in the polls after their rollicking weekend, where they beat St. Joseph’s 8-0 and then beat Temple 5-1. The people of Philadelphia are going to think SLU is the greatest team ever.

**SLU is ranked ninth this week by Soccer America, the first time the magazine has moved them into the top 10. Soccer America and the coaches polls have consistently given SLU lesser ratings, by a spot or two, than the other rankings. CollegeSoccerNews.com has SLU eighth. The coaches poll comes out on Tuesday.

On Friday night, Kyle Patterson scored three goals in 2 minutes, 31 seconds, the second-fastest any NCAA player has ever scored three goals. Patterson then scored in the eighth minute on Sunday. I haven’t seen what everyone else did, but I would think he has to get national player of the week consideration.

I’d predicted a few weeks ago that no one on SLU would get to double figures in goals this season, but I was wrong. Patterson now has 10, and with one more, he’ll have the most goals since Vedad Ibisevic left and sentenced SLU to three seasons of offensive struggles. Patterson had three goals last season. And it turns out that all Jimmy Holmes needed was to get his first goal and now he has five in five games.

Pat Disbennett played the second half of the St. Joseph’s game and stopped a PK and he started on Sunday before coming out in the second half for Ross Kaufman, who has been the starter since Disbennett got hurt early in the season. Dan Donigan said after the game that he’ll be considering all week whether to start Disbennett or Kaufman on Saturday against Charlotte.

One thing that is now out of Donigan’s control is what to do about Calum Angus and Rob Viviano and their yellow cards. Each has four yellow cards, and after the fifth, you have to sit out a game. If Angus or Viviano were to get a yellow on Saturday against Charlotte, they would have to sit out the first game of the conference tournament. Sometimes, coaches instruct players to intentionally get a yellow card (for instance, by stalling on a restart) so they will sit out a game in the regular season rather than in the playoffs. Donigan didn’t want Viviano or Angus to do that on Sunday because the Charlotte game may matter. So Angus and Viviano will have to be sure they don’t do anything to get a card on Saturday. Once a team gets to the postseason, the limit on cards goes up, so they’ll be safe.

SLU is 7-1 in the A-10 with a five-point edge on second place Rhode Island and Charlotte, but SLU still needs a tie against Charlotte to clinch first and an all-important first-round bye in the conference tournament. SLU would also clinch first if Rhode Island and Massachusetts don’t win one of their final two games. Rhode Island and UMass both close with St. Joe’s and Temple, the teams SLU beat up on this weekend. If Rhode Island wins both and SLU loses, Rhode Island would finish a point ahead of SLU. UMass can finish in a tie with SLU, and the Minutemen would have the edge because of their win over SLU. SLU has finished a spot in the conference tournament. As best as I can tell, 11 of the 14 teams in the league are still alive for a playoff spot. Only George Washington, Richmond and Temple are out.

Dado Hamzagic didn’t play this weekend, but the feeling is, he could play if it was the postseason.

SLU’s RPI going into the weekend was 24, With the bad RPIs of everyone else in the league, that number isn’t likely to go up much, which could mean SLU doesn’t get a first-round bye, even if they win out and finish with a 14-2-3 record.

And it should be noted that St. Joseph’s, the 8-0 loser to SLU, is tied for fifth in the league and could very well make the postseason with a win in either of its last two games.

Amazing accomplishment: Bill McDermott has been doing the PA announcing at SLU games for 35 years. That’s just a stunning feat.