The Saint Louis University men’s soccer squad put together another lights-out defensive performance against the Missouri State Bears on Tuesday night, improving their goals against average to an impressive 1.5 per game.
The Bills fought to a 0-0 draw with the Bears in the team’s second 110 minute contest, bringing their overall record for the year to 2-2-2. SLU once again outshot their opponents, this time tallying eight shots to Missouri State’s six.
The Billikens controlled the tempo throughout the match, allowing no serious scoring threats from the Bears. Keeper Nick Shackelford went largely untested throughout the night, due to stellar defensive play, needing to save only one shot. The shutout was Shackelford’s second consecutive shutout and third overall on the year.
Homecoming hero Nick Maglasang had an opportunity in the first half to put the Billikens ahead, but his attempt off of a feed from freshman Sito Sasieta was denied by a diving effort by Missouri State keeper Alex Riggs.
“It was a very touch-and-go game,” SLU head coach Mike McGinty said. “I thought we had a couple of decent looks, but there weren’t many clear-cut chances for either team. Missouri State did a good job sticking to its game plan. We now have to move forward to Clemson and put this one behind us.”
Later in the first, Jon Roeckle sent in a beautiful pass to Benny Estes that was headed just over the crossbar, leaving both squads scoreless at the half.
The second half resulted in another stalemate, with both teams keeping up the defensive pressure. SLU had a major scoring chance in the second half and two opportunities off of corner kicks in overtime, but each of those attempts was denied by the MSU defense.
On Friday, the Billikens head to South Carolina to take on the Clemson Tigers. The match kicks off a six game, 25-day road trip for the squad.
Atlantic 10 Conference play begins next week for the Billikens. Their A-10 schedule begins with five straight road games, including matches at Richmond and Charlotte.
SLU returns home on Tuesday, Oct. 26 for a non-conference match against UMKC.
