ST. LOUIS – In recognition of its 50th anniversary season the University of Missouri-St. Louis athletics department honored the 1973 national championship men's soccer team during halftime of Sunday's UMSL men's soccer game against Southwest Baptist.

Under the direction of UMSL Sports Hall of Fame head coach Don Dallas, the then Rivermen went 11-0-3 that season and claimed UMSL's first and to this day, only NCAA Championship. The team opened that season with a tie against Division I National Champion Saint Louis University, then went onto win their next four matches before another tie with SIU-Edwardsville. After two more wins, the team tied Rockhurst College before winning their final five games.

UMSL started the 1973 tournament with a 3-1 win against Western Illinois and then defeated Eastern Illinois 2-1 to claim the Midwest Regional title. In the national semifinals, UMSL beat Adelphi 1-0 on a goal in the second half from Jim McKenna to advance to the National Championship game where it defeated Cal-State Fullerton 3-0. Kevin Missey scored two the three UMSL goals in the national championship game with Mark LeGrand scoring the other goal.

Tim Smith was the leading scorer for UMSL that season, scoring 13 goals and adding eight assists for 34 points. At that time, his numbers set UMSL school records for goals, assists and points in a single season. Smith scored four goals and had two assists for 10 total points in a win against Washington University (Mo.), and he still holds the single game record for most goals (4) and most points (10) in a single game. Tim Kersting scored seven goals and had five assists on the season for 19 points. Frank Tusinski was the starting goalkeeper for the Rivermen, recording 90 saves on the season and allowing just 12 goals in 14 games and recorded seven shutouts. Missey and Tusinski both received national honors following the championship season as both were named all-region and All-American selections.

The team was inducted into the UMSL Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Dallas, Tusinski and athletic trainer Ted Struckmann were inducted in the inaugural class in 2001. Ken Hudson was inducted in 2002 as women's soccer head coach, Tim Smith was inducted in 2007, Pat Hogan was inducted in 2010 and Missey was inducted in 2014.