AMHERST, Mass. – Saint Louis senior defender Jon Roeckle scored twice to lead the Billikens to a 2-1 victory at UMass Sunday. The win gives SLU the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed at next week's A-10 Championship in Dayton, Ohio.
"I am extremely proud of the guys," SLU head coach Mike McGinty said. "Going through the A-10 schedule without a loss is a huge accomplishment. Winning championships is always difficult, and we have proved over the course of the season that we have great group. I'm proud of the way we fought all season long to win the A-10 regular-season championship, and we look forward to the A-10 tournament next week in Dayton."
The Billikens conclude the regular-season with a 12-4-2 overall record and a 6-0-2 mark in A-10 play. SLU enters the A-10 Championship on a three-match winning streak. UMass falls to 4-13-1 and 3-5 in the league.
SLU and UMass face each other in a rematch in the quarterfinal round of the A-10 Championship Thursday at 4 p.m. (CT), as the Minutemen earned the No. 8 seed.Â
Roeckle's goals on Sunday were his first two of the year. The first came in the 31st minute. On a free kick following a UMass yellow card, Roeckle put one in the top right corner from 22 yards out for the 1-0 advantage.
UMass equalized in the 39th minute on a goal by Josh Schwartz, and the teams went into halftime tied 1-1.
That remained the score for much of the second half until Roeckle notched the game-winner in the 78th minute. Stationed at the back post, Roeckle connected on a Marco Heskamp service across the box for the 2-1 Billiken final.
Senior goalkeeper Nick Shackelford made four saves for the victory in goal. The Billikens out-shot the Minutemen 14-9 and maintained a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.
