ST. LOUIS, MO. - Eighth-ranked Saint Louis (14-0-4) scored twice in a two minute span (25' & 27') to counter an early Jayden Da goal (13') to give the Billikens a 2-1 win over Duquesne (10-7-2) in the Atlantic 10 Championship final at Hermann Stadium on the campus of Saint Louis University on Sunday afternoon.

The win, which clinched an NCAA Championship bid for SLU, extended the Billikens unbeaten streak to 18 matches. The victory also gave SLU a 13-0-3 record in its past 16 home matches.

Duquesne, which was making the program's third title game appearance - and first since 2002 - finished the season with 10 wins, its most since 2006.

Da, who was making his first career start, headed in a service from Ryan Goodhew off a set piece in the 13th minute. The 6-4 Da used every inch of his height to put the ball by SLU's Patrick Schulte.

The assist was Goodhew's fourth in the Dukes' three A-10 Championship games.

The Billikens, who were outshot by the Dukes 6-2 in the opening 22 minutes, turned up the pressure, posting 13 shots, with nine on net including goals by Simon Becher (25') and Christian Buendia (27'), over the remainder of the half to take a 2-1 lead.

The lead stood over the second 45 minutes as the Billikens limited the Dukes to two second-half shots.

DU keeper Domenic Nascimben was outstanding in keeping the Dukes in the match, turning away a career high-tying nine Billiken shots.

NOTABLE
Ryan Goodhew and Nate Dragisich both earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• SLU Christian Buendia lined a shot off the left post in the fourth minute.
• Domenic Nascimben kicked away an attempt by the Billikens' Mason Leeth in the 7th minute.
• Jayden Da, who was making his first career start, used all of his 6-feet-4-inches to head a service from Ryan Goodkew into the back of the net off a set piece to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
• Da put another shot on net in the 19th minute. The assist was Goodhew's fourth in DU's three A-10 Championship matches.
• The Bills tied it when a shot by Isaiah Parker was saved to the foot of Simon Becher who deposited it in the 25th minute.
• Nascimben made a kick save of another Becher shot 40 seconds later.
• Christian Buendia made it 2-1 with a rolling shot from the top of the box in the 27th minute.
• Duquesne had a 6-2 advantage in shots (4-1 on goal) in the first 22 minutes.
• Nascimben made his seventh of eight first-half saves on a hard shot by Alex Shterenberg in the 42nd minute.
• SLU outshot the Dukes 13-0 (9-0 on goal) over the rest of the half.
• There were few scoring chances in the second half that saw the Billikens outshoot the Dukes 7-2.
• Saint Louis outshot Duquesne 22-8, including 11-4 on goal,
• SLU had 12 corners to zero for the Dukes.

DUQUESNE HEAD COACH CHASE BROOKS
"Our effort from the outset was pretty solid. We knew it was going to be a tough game, especially when you're playing an undefeated team - one of the top teams in the country - on their home field for a Championship. I felt our guys, especially early in the game, responded extremely well."

On the play of keeper Domenic Nascimben
"Dom has been fantastic. He made some great saves today. He's an elite-level goalkeeper. He's one of the best goalkeepers in this conference and we're looking forward to next year with him."

On the future
"This was a learning experience for us. I don't think anybody outside of our program thought we'd be at this point this season. We just need to make sure we learn from our experience and continue to move forward. There were a lot of good learning moments today and a lot of good things we can take from this so we can get better for next year. This is the standard. This is where we want to be. Now the key is to do it week in and week out."