NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- After falling behind 1-0 early on in the opening 45 minutes, the University of St. Francis women's soccer team responded by scoring two unanswered goals of its own, with the latter coming in the final two minutes of the match, to earn a 2-1 victory over Holy Cross College (Ind.) in its fifth Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference match of the year on Wednesday evening.  With the win, the Fighting Saints sit at 6-2-2 overall and 3-1-1 in league action.

First Half
The first 45 minutes showcased even offensive numbers across the board for both squads, with Holy Cross (3-5-1, 2-1-1 CCAC) edging out the Saints in total shots, eight to seven.  The hosts gained the first goal of the afternoon on its third shot attempt in the 14th minute of play with a Yuki Mita attempt finding the back of the USF net.  The initial drive looked to be defended well by St. Francis, but after a failed attempt to clear the ball in the USF backfield, Mita regained possession and took advantage of a unique opportunity when starting keeper Giselle Mata collided with a USF defender which allowed the circumstances for the open net look.  USF's offense struggled to counter with any successful looks over the next 18 minutes of play until Mia Ocana authored the equalizer off an assist from Jimena Diaz at the 32:27 mark to knot the score at 1-1.  Mata kept St. Francis in the match as she denied a pair of HCC strikes in the remaining minutes, keeping the score locked at the break.

Second Half
In the second half, the Saints ignited their engines with heavy offensive pressure, outshooting Holy Cross, 8-3 in the first 20 minutes of play.  USF's defense would soon be met with similar pressure from the HCC frontline between the 65th and 85th minutes, with the hosts rattling off the frame's next five shots.  The unsuccessful back-and-forth exchanges between the two squads over the first 40 minutes set the stage for an exciting final five minutes of the match, however, when USF assembled a threatening look in the 87th minute with an enticing chance to take the lead.  After pushing the ball past her defender deep into the HCC pitch, Diaz sent a strong cross towards the middle of the field.  The hosts were able to deflect the ball out, but Isabel Diez quickly regained possession and charged towards the HCC goal.  Breaking through two defenders, Diez fired a shot towards goal, but the HCC backline again stepped in front to deflect the ball away.  Sophielena Valles Vargas, who had just re-entered the game less than 10 minutes prior, corralled the loose ball and seeing that HCC keeper Janiah Juarez came out of the net, lobbed the ball over Juarez's head for what looked to be the game-winning strike with just 2 minutes and 43 seconds left on the clock.  The play was quickly ruled dead by the head referee, however, with a hand ball being called off Holy Cross before the ball crossed the goal line, setting up the game-ending dramatics with a USF penalty kick opportunity instead.  Kelly Flores was called upon to take the PK and, deciding to go left, sailed the ball past the diving keeper who also chose to go left, to give the Saints the 2-1 lead and the memorable ending to the highly-competitive match.

For the night, St. Francis took 17 shots, compared to HCC's 16, and were led by Flores and Citlali Perez, who had four attempts apiece with each authoring three tries on-target.  Ocana's three shots resulted in two saves and her sixth goal of the year, while Flores produced her fourth goal of the season.  In the net, Mata made four saves, denying all but one of Holy Cross' attempts.

Up Next
St. Francis will be back at home on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 4) to take on Mount Mary University (Wis.) in its first-ever matchup against the Blue Angels.  Kickoff for the CCAC contest is slated to commence at 1 pm at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

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