CROWN POINT, Ill. -- A balanced offensive attack by the University of St. Francis women's soccer team propelled the Fighting Saints to a 4-1 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic conference victory over Governors State University on Friday night.  USF led 2-1 at the break courtesy of a pair of goals from Litzy Flores and Isabel Diez before Citlali Perez and Sophielena Valles Vargas added the cherry toppers in the second half.  The Saints were denied their ninth shutout of the season early in the first period when the Jaguars got on the board first in just the 6th minute of play.  St. Francis' win improves its overall record to 10-3-3 on the season, and 7-2-2 in league play.

First Half
The Saints started on the attack early in the first half, putting up their first two shots of the afternoon within the initial three minutes of the contest.  But it was Governors State (2-8-2, 1-7-2 CCAC) who got on the scoreboard first when its second shot attempt of the evening found its way past USF keeper Giselle Mata in the 6th minute of play.  USF was quick to respond, however, as Litzy Flores authored the equalizer just two minutes later with an assist from Kelly Flores.  USF continued to press, taking an additional four shots over the next three minutes, with Diez finding success on the Saints' fourth try as she notched her 11th goal of the season off a cross from Andrea Aguirre in the 11th minute.  USF kept the pressure on the Jaguar defense throughout the remainder of the frame and earned six more shots before the end of the half, holding its 2-1 lead as well as a 13-9 advantage on shot attempts at the intermission.

Second Half
The second half was almost a mirror to the first, with the backline of Saint defenders making any Jaguar attack difficult, while its offense continued to have the upper hand in possession. The Saints continued utilizing their strategy into the 54th minute with Perez benefiting from a Kelly Flores assist to fire a strike past the GSU keeper and extend USF's lead to 3-1 with an insurance goal. The Jaguar defense held strong over the next 15 minutes fighting off eight subsequent USF shot attempts before Mata closed the door on the hosts by denying two strong GSU attempts in the remaining 20 minutes of play.  With the clock ticking down, St. Francis would chalk up one more tally in the goal column with Valles Vargas connecting for a score off an assist from Mia Ocana with 2:37 remaining to lock in the final score at 4-1.

St. Francis took 27 shots as a team in the win, besting Governors State, which ended the match with 18 shots. Kelly Flores took a team-high eight shots (four on-target) for USF, adding two assists to her new season total of six.  Diez produced six shots (three on-target), while Litzy Flores and Ocana each added three.  In goal for USF, Mata made five saves, while allowing the one goal.

Up Next
The Saints will use the next four days to prepare for Wednesday (Oct. 29) when they take on the Titans of Indiana University South Bend.  The match is slated to begin at 7 pm at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

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