CHICAGO -- The University of St. Francis men's soccer team traveled to take on the Saint Xavier University Cougars on Saturday night, looking to rebound from a tough loss last Tuesday to the Governors State University Jaguars. After giving up a goal midway through the first half, the Fighting Saints could not answer back as they ultimately fell 2-0 after the full 90 minutes were complete.  With the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference loss, the Saints dropped to 4-5-2 overall, and 0-4-2 in league play.

First Half
Saint Xavier (3-6-3, 3-0-2 CCAC) recorded three shots to kick off the first seven minutes of the contest, but St. Francis responded quickly with two of its own from Pablo Alvarez and Tony Njia.  USF's best looks of the half came from Bruno Silva, but an on-target shot in the 26th minute and a header attempt at 38:08 would both be denied by Cougar keeper Joel Estrada.  The hosts, on the other hand, were able to connect for a score at 30:09 on one of their nine shot attempts of the half, sneaking one past USF keeper Fede Figueredo to take the 1-0 lead.

Second Half
As the USF offense ramped up in the second half, so did the physicality between both sides. St. Francis worked hard to generate chances to find an equalizer, while Saint Xavier did everything in its power to keep the Saints off the board.  In the 53rd minute, Santos Contreras had a chance to tie the game at one-all, but his shot was saved by Estrada.  Then, at the 65:46 mark, Saint Xavier was able to extend its lead to 2-0.  That, however, did not deter the Saints from continuing to fight to create chances of their own.  The influx of offensive pressure was met by a solid SXU defensive line that would not relent as the back line held the Saints to a total of just three shots in the second half en route to securing the 2-0 win.

Silva and Contreras led the Saints in shot attempts with two apiece on the night.  Miguel Zavala and Juan Jimenez each recorded one, along with Alvarez and Njia.  Saint Xavier outshot the Saints 16-8, while USF held the advantage in corner kicks 3-1.  Each keeper recorded three saves in goal for their respective team.

Up Next
The Saints are back in action at home on Wednesday (Oct. 16) against Indiana University Northwest starting at 7 pm.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.