ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis converted a pair of headers early in the second half and No. 5 Stanford dropped its nonconference finale to the Billikens, 2-0, at Hermann Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinal will head into Pac-12 play with a 6-2 overall record and begin its quest for a fourth consecutive conference title next Thursday, Sept. 28 when it travels to San Diego State at 7 p.m.
Saint Louis (2-3-1) broke through in the 57th minute when a Stanford clearance near the top of the box was knocked down by Jacob Krupp. Krupp quickly put a service across to Leo Novaes, who headed the ball past Nico Corti into the side netting at the far post.
Four minutes later, SLU's Spencer Jones knocked a corner clear through the mass of people in front of goal and raced into the box himself. Eric Davies tracked down the ball on the other side and sent it back in to Jones for a snap header to increase the Billikens' lead.
Stanford dominated action late in the opening half and nearly scored on a number of set pieces. The Cardinal won nine corners in the first 45 minutes and Tomas Hilliard-Arce was strong in the air, getting his head on five, but none found their way past SLU keeper Sascha Otte.
Two more Stanford headers in the 72nd minute were high and wide and despite outshooting SLU 16-9, Stanford was shutout for the second time this season. The Cardinal forced Otte to make one save, while six of the Billikens' nine shots were on frame.
In the 76th, a bouncing ball found Amir Bashti at the top of the box, but his right-footed blast sailed over the crossbar.
Stanford was in a similar situation a season ago, suffering a road loss at San Francisco in its final game before entering conference action. The Cardinal would right the ship, win five straight and go unbeaten in eight in a row en route to its third straight Pac-12 title.
