ST. LOUIS – St. Louis(w) picked up its third consecutive shutout and fifth of the season in Friday night’s Atlantic 10 Conference opener against La Salle, but the Billikens could not take advantage of an overwhelming advantage in shots and settled for a 0-0 tie at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

 
The Billikens (3-4-2, 0-0-1) tallied 28 shots to just five for the Explorers (6-2-2, 0-0-1), including a 10-0 margin in shots on goal (8-0 in the second half). The shots advantage was 10-3 in the first half and even more lopsided, 18-2, in the second half and overtime.
 

La Salle goalkeeper Melissa Sanger made 10 saves, including back-to-back stops with less than two minutes to play in regulation. Sanger turned away Julia Bradenberg’s shot from 20 yards out on a restart but yielded a rebound. Kelly Waeckerle collected the carom and made a point-blank attempt, but Sanger was up to the task again.

 

The Billikens had two near misses in the first half. Bradenberg’s shot from just inside the box almost tucked inside the far post, and Waeckerle fired a liner that unfortunately found the crossbar and bounced back.

 
Waeckerle, Susan Frederickson and Bradenberg tallied eight, seven and six shots, respectively, all individual season highs. Waeckerle and Frederickson tied for game-high honors with three shots on goal apiece, while Bradenberg had two.

 
The Billikens travel to St. Bonaventure Sunday for their first A-10 road test of the season. First whistle is noon (CT).