Anderson ready to help Billikens make NCAA tourney push before bidding adieu to college soccer

ST. LOUIS — Seth Anderson embraces the fact he never has to face anything alone.

None of the Saint Louis University men’s soccer players do.

“Every year, you get more people who join the team and continue making it one big family,” Anderson said. “You never feel like you don’t have someone to go and talk to or if you just need something. Everyone is one big family and there are never any groups. Everyone is together.

“This is something I am grateful for. I’m so close to home that I have family there, but being here with the coaching staff, the players, all of the friends I have here, it’s been a memorable experience.”

One that is not over yet.

Anderson and the Billikens (8-4-8) embark on their national championship pursuit by playing host to Missouri-Kansas City in Thursday night’s first round of the NCAA Tournament at Hermann Stadium. A victory means a rematch with Missouri State, which SLU played to a scoreless draw on Oct. 23.

But Anderson won’t get caught looking that far ahead.

The senior midfielder and Quincy Notre Dame product knows the window on his career is closing, but the fact two of the Billikens’ four losses came against Dayton, seeded fifth in the national tournament, gives everyone hope a playoff run is in the works.

“It’s been a year of ups and downs, but we’ve played all the best teams in the country,” said Anderson, who ranks second in QND history with 79 career goals and scored 35 as a senior in 2021. “So we’re ready for anything that happens in this tournament. You always try to be prepared for it.”

And you try to stay present in the moment instead of assessing everything that has taken place over a four-year career.

“That comes when everything is said and done,” Anderson said. “I’m trying to look at it game by game. I don’t think about, ‘Oh, it could be over,’ or it could be this or could be that. I think of it as, ‘Oh, I get to go do this.’”

He’s done it at a high level.

A first-team All-Atlantic-10 Conference selection as the ultimate set-up man this season, Anderson leads the Billikens with nine assists. He is tied for the most assists in the A-10 and ranks among the top 15 nationally in assists.

He has 20 assists and seven goals in 78 career games, 57 of which have been starts.

The hope is his playmaking ability leads to an opportunity to play professionally after this season. Anderson will graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, but he’d like to put off job hunting for a while to continue playing.

That, too, is on the backburner. The NCAA Tournament is the priority, especially for a senior.

“You have to look at the work you’re put in the past three or four years and you never really imagine yourself in the place that you are now,” Anderson said. “You just have to be grateful you have gotten to where you are. This senior year has been special with the guys you are around.”

Certainly, SLU’s success helps define his career as a success — the Billikens have a 44-14-20 record the past four seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearances — but it’s the manner in which the Billikens have played that Anderson believes sets the program apart.

“There are so many guys that could be starting or could come off the bench, and regardless, they are doing their job to the fullest every single time,” Anderson said. “What’s made this team successful is everyone is ready to go whenever their shoulder is tapped on.

“Work hard and stay together. You’ll always get the job done if you can do those two things.”

And in this case, it’s taken the Billikens back to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year hiatus.

“It’s something you don’t realize in the moment how special it is,” Anderson said. “You look back on it in a year or so, and it’s something you never want to take for granted.”

Especially when it’s your last go-around.

“You lose this one and your college career is over,” Anderson said. “You hope you get the chance to play professionally and that someone calls, but there are no guarantees. If it doesn’t, your soccer career could be coming to a close, so make the most of it.”