JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis men's soccer team came up short in a 2-0 loss to Saint Xavier University on Wednesday night.  It marked the sixth Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference loss of the season for the Fighting Saints and dropped their overall record to 2-10-1 on the year.  In league play, the team fell to 2-6-0.  Before the matchup against the Cougars, St. Francis honored its seven seniors – Carson Churchill, Louis Egizio, Sergio Fernandez-Arango, Carlos Garcia Martinez, Erick Guzman, Michael O'Shea, and Nathan Sharp.

First Half
Saint Xavier (11-3-2, 6-1-1 CCAC) held the advantage over the Saints in the first 45 minutes of play, taking 13 shots compared to USF's one.  In the 19th minute, the Saints came within inches of scoring after they were able to reset their offense by regaining possession.  A sharp pass ahead from midfield allowed USF striker Benisio Gamino to connect for a shot attempt in front of the visitors' goal that sailed past starting SXU goalkeeper Daniel Martinez, but the deflection off the crossbar resulted in the ball ricocheting straight down instead of crossing the goal line.  After the miss, Saint Xavier was able to create seven more shot attempts over the remaining 25 plus minutes, but the 0-0 deadlock would hold through the halftime break.

Second Half
Being held to just one shot attempt in the first half, the Saints picked up their offensive pursuit in the first three minutes of the second frame by firing off three consecutive shots, all of which missed wide of the net.  The Cougars put the pressure on USF at the 49:19 mark when they scored their first goal of the night.  Four minutes later, St. Francis' efforts looked to pay off, but a miss high of the net off an open look would deny a Max Gaudry shot to keep the Saints scoreless.  USF again tried to ramp up its offensive pressure, but the charge was matched by a solid defensive line from the Cougars with one attempt from Rogelio Valles and two from Sergio Fernandez-Arango all coming up short in the remaining minutes of play.  Saint Xavier would tack on one more goal before time ran out at the 1:07 mark after intercepting a pass in the USF backfield, resulting in the 2-0 USF loss.

St. Francis posted eight shots in the match with only two coming on frame, while Saint Xavier had 26 shots and 10 on-target.  Fernandez-Arango led in the shot category for USF with two (one on-goal), while Valles added the only other on-target threat.  Merlijn van der Veen made was called upon for the start in the net for USF, totaling a career-high eight saves while allowing the two goals in his 90 minutes of work.

Next Up
St. Francis will be back on the road Saturday afternoon (Oct. 25) in La Crosse, Wis. to take on Viterbo University (Wis.) at 1 pm at the Viterbo Outdoor Athletics Complex.

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