JOLIET, Ill. - The University of St. Francis women's soccer team landed in the win column for the sixth time in the 2024 season Wednesday afternoon as four Saints combined to score six goals in a 6-2 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Governors State University. USF's win gives it a 6-3-4 overall record on the season and, more importantly, now ties the Saints for first place in the league standings following Olivet Nazarene University's 1-1 tie with Holy Cross College. ONU and St. Francis are both 4-0-2 in conference play.
First Half
St. Francis took the first offensive strike of the game just 31 seconds into the contest after intercepting a Governors State pass across midfield. The Saints stayed on the offensive attack with six straight shots over the next 15 minutes, the last two of which resulted in USF's first scores of the afternoon. Both goals were registered by junior forward
Mia Ocana with the two assists coming from
Ariadne Gonzalez in the 14th and 16th minutes. Just three minutes later,
Isabel Diez would find the back of the GSU net as she powered an uncontested shot past the diving keeper to up USF's lead to 3-0. Only another five minutes lapsed before the Saints got on the board again.
Litzy Flores provided the assist on the goal by advancing the ball to find teammate
Maite Bernal cutting across the field. Bernal grounded the pass and was able to connect for a commanding kick into the Jaguars' net. Governors State immediately responded to keep from being shut out in the opening half with a goal of its own just under one minute later to cut the deficit to 4-1. That lead would stick for St. Francis as the game progressed to halftime, despite USF attempting three more shots before the half concluded.
Second Half
In the second half, Governors State adjusted quickly and shot twice in the first two minutes of the period. Eleven minutes after the game remained at a standstill, GSU was able to add a second goal to its total as Morgan Bean broke free and blasted her second tally to cut the deficit in half at 4-2. St. Francis was finally able to respond on its first shot attempt of the half after five Jaguar tries when Flores connected for an open shot after weaving through the Jaguar defense. The goal came quickly after a throw-in with Flores catching the defense sitting back on the restart to up USF's advantage to 5-2. With the game in hand, St. Francis was able to add one final goal to its total in the 78th minute with Bernal hitting the back of the GSU net for the second time off an
Andrea Villa assist.
Ocana and Bernal each scored twice in the win with Gonzalez adding a pair of assists. Bernal led the team in taking a total of five shots in the match, while all four of Gonzalez's attempts were on target. In goal,
Krystal Rodriguez made six saves to move her record to 6-3-4 on the season.
Up Next
The Saints will use the next two days to prepare for Saturday (Oct. 12) when they travel to Chicago to take on the Cougars of Saint Xavier University. SXU, which presently sits below the Saints by five points in the league standings, is 5-3-1 on the season. The match is slated to begin at 5 pm at Deaton Field.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
