It is the first time since Saint Louis University joined the Atlantic 10 league four years ago that it lost more than one game in conference play.

SLU, which came into the week ranked 15th in the country by the NSCAA, dips to 6-2-5 overall and 2-2-0 in the A-10. The team tallied a couple couference victories over La Salle and Xavier, and dropped matches to Fordham and Dayton.

Most recently against Dayton on Sunday, Oct. 19, the Bills went down early 0-1. Dayton packed it in on defense to hold off a charging SLU offense.

“We have to be critical of ourselves and take a look at every guy in every situation,” head coach Dan Donigan said. “Dayton came out and played hard and executed their game plan, and we have to find a way to beat that because we’ll play games similar to this the rest of the season.

“We had bad decisions in the final third. I wasn’t concerned about them getting the second goal; I was most concerned with us breaking through to get the tying goal.”

Nearing the halfway point of the conference season, SLU is tied for fifth in the league standings with six points. Dayton leads all teams with 10 points, followed by Charlotte, George Washington and Temple, which all have seven points.

Tied with SLU are Fordham and Rhode Island. The top six teams in the league standings advance to the A-10 Championship, which will be held in Pittsburgh, Nov. 13-16.

The road to the A-10 Tournament does not get easier. Next up for No. 18 SLU is No. 23 Charlotte. The 49ers enter the contest 10-3-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the A-10.

Defensively, SLU leads the A-10 and is 10th nationally in goals against average (0.57). Also, the Billikens lead the league in fewest goals allowed (8) and shutouts (7).

Offensively, the Bills will look to Kyle Patterson, who scored three goals against Xavier Oct. 17, and earned Co-player of the Week, or one of its other six players who have scored this season.