What’s on Tap: A pair of ranked foes will meet in a men’s soccer exhibition game Saturday night when No. 8 Akron comes to town to face the 10th-ranked Saint Louis Billikens at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Following the Action: Free Video Stream (link coming near gametime)| Live Stats. Fans are reminded that they can view live stats via their mobile device by visiting slustats.com in your mobile browser. Also, be sure to follow@SLUMensSoccer on Twitter for updates throughout the game.

Up Next: Saint Louis officially kicks off its 2013 season next Friday, Aug. 30, against Oral Roberts at Hermann Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. For the full schedule, click here.

Tickets: Tickets for all men’s soccer home games at Robert R. Hermann Stadium can be purchased at the gate, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online at www.slubillikens.com. Prices for single-game tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Groups of 20 or more receive discounted tickets for $4 apiece. Season tickets are $70 for adults and $40 for youth (ages 3-12). Students with a valid SLU ID card receive free admission.

About the Billikens: Saint Louis returns all but one starter from last year’s team that went 16-5 overall and captured the Atlantic 10 Conference title. The Billikens claimed the No. 8 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. SLU’s 16 wins were the most since the 2001 squad won 18 games.

All-Conference Honors:  Saint Louis, the reigning Atlantic 10 Conference men’s soccer champion, was been picked to win the 2013 A-10 title in balloting by the league’s head coaches. Additionally, a league-high six Billikens were honored on the A-10 preseason All-Conference teams: Sophomore midfielder David Graydon (Kildare, Ireland), junior forwardRobert Kristo (St. Louis, Mo.), junior defender Anthony Manning (Mesquite, Texas) and senior midfielder Alex Sweetin(Overland Park, Kan.) were named preseason All-Conference. Freshman goalkeeper David Andre (Rennes, France) and freshman midfielder/defender Joe Saad (San Diego, Calif.) were named to the A-10’s preseason All-Rookie team.

Hermann Watch List: Junior forward Robert Kristo and junior defender Anthony Manning were named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. The Hermann Trophy, emblematic of the nation’s top collegiate soccer player, is awarded in early January at the MAC in downtown St. Louis.

That’s Offensive: The Billikens return the scorers of all but three of its 46 goals. Junior forward Robert Kristo, a Hermann Trophy semifinalist a season ago, returns after leading SLU in scoring with 27 points (11G, 5A). Senior forwardAdnan Gabeljic finished second on the Billikens with 19 points (7G, 5A), while junior forward/midfielder Kingsley Bryceand senior midfielder Alex Sweetin tied for third in scoring with 17 points apiece.

Getting Defensive: While the core offensive unit returns for the Billikens, the same can be said for the defense. NSCAA first-team All-Region pick Anthony Manning and All-Conference performer Jon Roeckle return to anchor the defense. Sophomore defenders Marco Heskamp and Tyler David also return after starting as freshmen. In the net, senior Nick Shackelford returns. His 16 victories a season ago were seventh most in school history, and he appears in the top 10 in school history in career victories (25) and career goals against average (0.98).

Polling Place: Saint Louis is ranked No. 10 in CollegeSoccerNews.com’s preseason top 30 poll and No. 15 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire preseason rankings. TopDrawerSoccer.com tabs the Billikens No. 18 in the country.

Scouting Akron: The Zips are embarking on their first campaign under new head coach Jared Embick, who took over for current Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter. Last season, Akron went 18-1-3 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship for a fifth consecutive season. Senior forward Reinaldo Brenes led the Zips in scoring last year with 11 goals.

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