Box Score RICHMOND, Va. – Freshman forward Cristina Rodriguez scored her second goal of the season in the 11th minute to support the shutout goalkeeping of sophomore Hanna Benben, and Saint Louis closed the regular season with a 1-0 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over VCU Sunday afternoon at SportsBackers Stadium.
Rodriguez was assisted by senior midfielder Tori Belgeri, who tallied her second helper of the year. The goal was scored at the 10:56 mark.
Benben, who picked up her third career shutout and second consecutive 1-0 triumph, made two saves. The shutout was the Billikens' fourth of the season, all against A-10 opponents.
SLU concluded the regular season 6-10-2 overall and 5-2-1 in conference play. The Billikens, who were picked to finish eighth, tied defending champion La Salle for second place. VCU is 8-7-3 overall and 3-3-2 in the A-10.
Saint Louis went into Sunday's game having already qualified for the A-10 Championship for the first time since 2009. The Bills' 5-2-1 league record is their first above-.500 mark since 2008, and their .688 winning percentage in A-10 contests is their best since 2007 (.727).
VCU will host the eight-team A-10 Championship, the winner of which receives the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The quarterfinals will be played Thursday, Nov. 7, followed by the semifinals Nov. 8 and the championship match Nov. 10. Pairings and times for the quarterfinals will be announced later today.
