JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis men's soccer team led Holy Cross College by a 2-0 margin, but was happy to walk away with a 3-3 draw on Tuesday night after scoring late with a dramatic 89th minute penalty shot off the foot of Santos Contreras.  In a chippy Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup between the two teams, the tie moves the Fighting Saints to 4-2-1 overall and 0-1-1 in CCAC action on the season.

First Half
St. Francis won possession early in the match and used its speed to its advantage as the Saints put up the first goal of the game in the eighth minute.  After USF won the ball on its own defensive half and advanced it up, Nathan Sharp found himself open, while approaching the net.  Seeing the Holy Cross keeper charging towards him to defend the shot, Sharp passed the ball behind to a trailing Dominik Barwiolek, who collected the ball and scored from 10 yards out to give the Saints a 1-0 lead. The hosts would continue to press and registered seven more shots before the intermission, but solid defense on both ends resulted in the score staying locked at 1-0 at the break.
 
Second Half
After halftime, St. Francis came out quickly and drove home the night's second goal in the 48th minute after a pass from Anthony Derka allowed Barwiolek to extend the Saints' lead to 2-0.  Holy Cross (3-5-2, 0-1-1) countered on its third shot of the half, sneaking a header past USF keep Fede Figueredo in the 52nd minute.  The Saints fired two quick shots after the goal, but in the 64th minute, a USF foul in the box resulted in Holy Cross tying the game off a successful penalty kick.  The game remained a draw for the next seven minutes, despite contested looks from both St. Francis and HCC.  Holy Cross would take a 3-2 lead at 71:17 after a free kick would deflect off a diving Figueredo and straight to a HCC striker.  Holy Cross' defense attempted to hold off the Saints for the final 19 minutes, but with exactly one minute to play, a hard foul would be committed from a HCC defender in the box to set up the game-ending dramatics.  Contreras lined up to take the PK and, deciding to go left, sailed the ball past the diving keeper who chose to go right, to tie the match at the eventual 3-3 score.

For the game, St. Francis took 19 shots and was led by senior forward Ander Santamarta, who had three attempts with two on goal.  Barwiolek scored on both of his shot attempts as his sixth and seventh shots of the season went in for scores.  Contreras produced his first goal of the season and took a total of three shots in the draw.  In the net, Figueredo made five saves, denying two-thirds of Holy Cross' shots.

Up Next
St. Francis will be back on the road Saturday afternoon (Sept. 28) in Elgin, Ill. to take on Judson University at 3 pm on Dawson Field.

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