Saint Louis scored three first-half goals en route to a 3-0 Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer victory against Saint Joseph's Sunday afternoon at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
The victory - SLU's second by a 3-0 count in as many games - moves the Billikens' record to 7-6-2 overall and 4-3-0 in A-10 play. Saint Joseph's dips to 2-13-0 and 1-6-0 in the league.
"Getting out to the quick lead made all the difference," SLU head coach Mike McGinty said. "We wanted to score early and then manage the rest of the game, and we did that. We are playing well right now. We haven't lost at home and have only given up two goals here, and that was when we were up 4-0 on Oral Roberts. "
The Billikens scored twice in the opening minutes to take command of the game. Their first goal came in the third minute when freshman Christian Briggs scored on a corner kick from Jon Roeckle.
At 5:04, SLU made it 2-0 on junior Chad Vandegriffe's first-career goal. Devon Newport and Roeckle played a combination off a corner kick, and Roeckle centered the ball into the box. Jake Brown deflected it slightly to Vandegriffe, who then buried a shot into the back of the net.
Newport made it 3-0 with a goal at 16:45. Junior Alex Johnston sent a nice feed to Newport in the left side of the penalty area, and Newport fired past SJU keeper Michael Moulton for the three-goal advantage.
Briggs and Newport's goals give them three for the season, tying them with Adnan Gabeljic and Benny Estes for the team lead. Roeckle's two assists gives him a team-leading five for the season.
The Billiken defense kept Saint Joseph's off the board, SLU's second-straight shutout. Keeper Mark Pais made two saves for his third shutout of the year.
SLU concludes the regular season next weekend with two games at Hermann Stadium. The Billikens host Rhode Island Friday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. and UMass Sunday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m.