St. Louis - No. 11 Saint Louis celebrated Senior Day by shutting out Dayton 2-0 in an Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer match this afternoon at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Billikens concluded an eight-game homestand with a 6-1-1 mark with the only loss to top-ranked SMU.
"After a difficult match Friday night, we showed some resiliency and were able to figure out a way to win," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "We were without some key players, so our depth was on display, and we had people step in with productive minutes. It wasn't exactly a beautiful game, but a win always looks pretty."
After missing early chances by midfielders Dado Hamzagic and Brian Grazier, Saint Louis freshman forward Scott Wisniewski put the Bills on top in the 24th minute. After forward Casey Spiess dribbled aggressively down the left flank, the senior found Wisniewski making a strong run to the left post. Wisniewski calmly deflected Spiess' centering pass beyond the reach of Flyers keeper Zac Gibbens. UD's best chance came in the 32nd minute when freshman forward's Jeff Popella's header sailed over the cross bar. The Bills out-shot the Flyers 5-3 in the opening half.
With the Billikens missing midfielders Alex Matteson and Eric Sweetin from the starting lineup because of injury and other factors, Saint Louis had difficulty maintaining its usual offensive pressure. Neverthless, SLU increased its advantage to 2-0 in the 76th minute on freshman midfielder Kyle Hayes' second career goal. After sophomore forward Larry Geraghty out-fought a Flyers defender at midfield, he found Hayes streaking down the right flank. Hayes went in one-one-on against UD's Gibbens and buried a 12-yard shot to the near post.
Saint Louis out-shot Dayton (4-9-0 overall, 0-5-0 A-10) 8-7 and had a 3-2 edge in corner kicks. SLU freshman keeper Ross Kaufman made three saves, and senior Nick Billman completed the shutout. UD's Gibbens made one stop.
Saint Louis (8-3-2, 4-0-1) begins a four-game road trip to finish the regular season when the Billikens travel to Saint Joseph's on Fri., Oct. 20, for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) kick-off.
