Saint Louis got goals from seniors A.J. Palazzolo and Chris Bruch as the top-seeded Billikens defeated No. 8 seed Dayton 2-0 Saturday night in an Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Soccer Championship quarterfinal round matchup at Hermann Stadium.
The Billikens will host the A-10 semifinals and final next weekend at Hermann Stadium. SLU faces No. 4 seed Fordham at noon on Friday, Nov. 12, in the first semifinal. The Rams defeated VCU 2-1 in double overtime in a quarterfinal matchup.
Saint Louis improves to 13-0-3 with the victory, its 10th in a row. The Billikens, ranked No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the country (New Hampshire).
Patrick Schulte made three saves for his eighth shutout of the season. Two of the saves came during an exciting flurry in the second half. After making a diving save to his right, the ball glanced off the post and back into the box. Schulte was sharp on the rebound, lunging to his left to stop a shot from point-blank range to secure the clean sheet.
Palazzolo gave the Billikens a 1-0 lead with a great strike from the top of the box. A Dayton defender headed away a SLU corner kick, and the ball came right to Palazzolo. He rifled a shot from 19 yards out and banged it in off the crossbar for the SLU lead.
Dayton was on the attack for much of the second half, but SLU put the game away on a goal by Chris Bruch in the 86th minute. Simon Becher slotted a pass to Bruch, who ran onto it and scored on the first touch. It was Bruch’s second goal of the year. Becher now has 30 points on the season (11G, 8A).
Click here for more information on the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Soccer Championship.
