DAYTON, Ohio - Dayton converted a first-half penalty kick and held off the visiting Saint Louis Billikens for a 1-0 victory in Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer action Sunday at Baujan Field.

The loss dips the Billikens to 10-6-0 overall and 5-2-0 in league play. They are now tied for third in the league standings with St. Bonaventure, trailing only Dayton and Fordham. Dayton improves to 11-4-1 overall and leads the A-10 with a 6-1-0 mark.

The game-deciding penalty kick occurred at 29:10 in the first half. Jeff Popella was taken down in the box, and he buried the resulting free strike for his second goal of the season. SLU head coach Dan Donigan disagreed with the call and was subsequently ejected from the match after receiving a red card.

"It is disappointing to lose a critical game like this on a PK," Donigan said. "Our guys came out and played hard and deserved better. It was a good game and we competed well in a tough environment."

The Dayton defense fought off five Billiken corner kicks and 11 shots to keep the Bills off the board. On two occasions, Dayton benefitted from defensive saves. Early in the match, Dayton defender Randy Dennis cleared away a Benny Estes shot, and defender Ben Murray was again in good position to turn aside an Stephen Bortolon and Estes.

Sweetin led the Bills with four shots, while Estes fired three. Overall, the Billikens out-shot the Flyers 11-8 and held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks. SLU keeper Ross Kaufman made two saves.

Saint Louis returns to action Friday, Nov. 6, when it travels to Philadelphia to face Temple at 1 p.m. (CT). The Billikens close the regular season Sunday, Nov. 8, at Saint Joseph's beginning at noon (CT).