PORTLAND, Ore. - Saint Louis received an early goal from sophomore forward Mike Roach and staved off a late Washington rally to claim a 2-1 victory against the Huskies Friday in the first game of the Nike Portland Invitational. It was the first win of the season for the Billikens (1-1-0).

"It was good to get this result against a big and physical Washington team," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "We came out strong in the first half and put them on their heels with an early goal, but I was disappointed in the fact that we couldn't continue that style of play in the second half. We are still trying to figure out our young team and they know they are judged on a game-by-game basis. I am pleased to get our first win, but our focus now shifts to preparing for a tough match against Portland on Sunday."

Next up for SLU is tournament host Portland, which plays Virginia later this evening. The Billikens and Pilots face each other at 4:30 p.m. (CT) Sunday at Merlo Field.

The Billikens wasted little time getting on the board as Roach tallied just 3 minutes, 33 seconds into the contest. Alex Johnston fed Roach in the box, and Roach followed up his own deflected shot from six yards out to give the Bills the early advantage.

Later in the half, sophomore midfielder Jimmy Holmes and Josh Aranda assisted on the play.

In second-half action, Washington received a goal from Casey Cunningham in the 54th minute, but the SLU defense, anchored by senior goalkeeper Ross Kaufman, withstood the ensuing Huskies challenge to secure the 2-1 victory.

Saint Louis held a 9-8 advantage in shots and out-cornered the Huskies 6-4. Kaufman made four saves for SLU, while Hawkins stopped three shots on the other end for Washington.