DAYTON, Ohio – Top-seeded Saint Louis scored a pair of quick goals early in the second half and held on for a 2-0 victory against No. 8-seed Massachusetts Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer Championship at the University of Dayton.

The Billikens, who improve to 13-4-2 on the year, advance to Friday's semifinals where they will play either No. 4 La Salle or No. 5 Dayton at 6:30 p.m. (CT). All games of the A-10 Championship are streamed free of charge on the A-10 Digital Network, accessible off the Championship Central web page.

"Getting two goals against a team like UMass isn't an easy task, and we did a good job getting on the board at the start of the second half," SLU head coach Mike McGinty said. "We managed from then on, getting the shutout was a positive. We live to fight another day, now we have to get ready for tomorrow."

Sophomore defender Julian Gieseke scored the game-winner in the 48th minute. A-10 Midfielder of the Year Alex Sweetin sent a ball into the box on a restart, and Gieseke managed to deflect it ever so slightly. The ball found its way through the box and into the far-side netting for the game's first tally.

Just two minutes later, the Billikens scored the key insurance marker on a goal set up once again by Sweetin. On a corner kick, Sweetin sent a perfectly flighted ball into the box that Robert Kristo headed home at the far post to give the Billikens a 2-0 advantage. It was Kristo's team-leading 10th goal of the season.

SLU keeper Nick Shackelford made two saves, including one dazzling stop early in the match, to preserve the shutout.

Saint Louis outshot the Minutemen (4-14-1) 14-9 and held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.