ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis junior forward Robert Kristo's 18th minute goal held up for the No. 5 Billikens, as they defeated Denver 1-0 Saturday night at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

It was the second goal of the season for Kristo. Assisting wereDavid Graydon and Jon Roeckle. SLU keeper Nick Shackelfordmade five saves for his third clean sheet of the season as Saint Louis improved to 4-1 with the win.

"I don't think we were as sharp as we could have been, but we found a way to win," SLU head coach Mike McGinty said. "It's funny, because I thought we played better soccer at Evansville, a game that we lost. It's been a brutal five game stretch in a short period of time, the guys have worked their socks off. This was a good result with some really tired players."

Kristo scored the only goal the Billikens would need. Graydon started the scoring play when he sent a ball in the left corner to Roeckle. With one touch, Roeckle flighted a perfect ball to Kristo, who ran in at the far post and headed it home for the eventual game-winner at 17:30 of the opening half.

Shackelford was sharp between the posts to preserve the shutout, and the Billiken victory. He made three saves in the first half and two in the second, several of them at point-blank range.

The Billikens return to action next Saturday when they travel to Storrs, Conn., to take on UConn. Match time is 6 p.m. The Huskies had been ranked in the top five, but are coming off a week that saw them tie Washington and lose to Bradley.