ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis opened its men’s soccer Atlantic 10 Conference slate on a high note, defeated Fordham 2-0 Friday night at Robert R. Hermann Stadium in the conference opener for both teams.

 

The Billikens (7-3, 1-0 A-10) scored both of their goals in the first half. Sophomore forward Francisco Vizcaino opened the scoring with a tally in the 33rd minute, while junior forward Kingsley Bryce netted an insurance marker in the 42nd minute. SLU senior keeper Nick Shackelford made one save for his fifth clean sheet of the year.

 

“It was a good way to start the campaign,” SLU head coach Mike McGinty said. “There were some moments in the first half where I thought we could have been a little cleaner, but we were really sharp in front of goal. It was good way to start.”

 

Vizcaino’s goal, his third of the season, came at 32:13 off a nice follow from a shot by sophomore midfielder David Graydon. Vizcaino buried the rebound from point-blank range to put the Billikens on top 1-0. It was Graydon’s team-leading fifth assist of the season.

 

Another pretty sequence just before halftime gave the Billikens a 2-0 lead at the break. Bryce was the beneficiary of a nice run by Sweetin down the right flank, who sent the ball into the box. It glanced off of Vizcaino and came to Bryce, who finished in the top right corner from just outside the goal area to make it 2-0.

 

Saint Louis outshot the Rams (3-7, 0-1 A-10) 15-6 and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.

 

The Billikens return to action Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. when they host George Washington at Hermann Stadium. Earlier tonight, the Colonials (3-6-1, 0-0-1 A-10) handed nationally ranked Dayton (10-0-1, 0-0-1 A-10) its first loss or tie when the two teams battled to a scoreless draw.

 

The game is the second of a doubleheader at Hermann Stadium, as the SLU women’s team hosts UMass at noon Sunday. Once ticket gets you admittance for both games.