LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The University of St. Francis men's soccer team suffered its eleventh loss of the 2025 season on Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference defeat to Viterbo University (Wis.). The win gave the V-Hawks their ninth win of the year, while the Fighting Saints fell to 2-11-1. In league play, USF now stands at 2-7-0.
First Half
Viterbo (9-4-2, 6-2-0 CCAC) kept offensive pressure on St. Francis' back line in the opening 45 minutes, but a strong defensive effort from the Saints kept the V-Hawks from having few open looks at the goal. Viterbo would record 12 shots in the period, but only five would be on-target with one getting passed USF goalkeeper
Elio Di Gennaro in the 2nd minute of play. On the other end, USF was unable to register an offensive try with its only threat being dismantled with on offsides call in the 25th minute.
Second Half
The second half proved to be full of offensive aggression with four goals being scored after the break. Viterbo's offensive pace increased as each minute went by with the V-Hawk front line putting additional pressure on the Saints' defense. After USF opened the stanza with a goal from
Max Gaudry five minutes into the frame, Viterbo retaliated with five tries over the next 23 minutes, scoring on its third attempt at the 64:16 mark to retake the lead at 2-1.
Austin Dellezay was able to swing the momentum back in USF's favor with a successful header off a cross from Gaudry in the 74th minute, however, the excitement would not last long as Viterbo took back the advantage less than two minutes later with a goal of its own to secure the outright victory 3-2.
The Saints totaled six shots in the match (three on goal) compared to Viterbo's 23 (eight). Gaudry and
Peer Langenhuijsen had two shot attempts apiece in the contest, while Dellezay and
Rogelio Valles took one each. Dellezay's score marked the first goal of his collegiate career. Di Gennaro grabbed five saves, while allowing the three goals in his 90 minutes of work in the net for the Saints.
Up Next
St. Francis will be back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 28 when it travels to Gary, Ind. to take on Indiana University Northwest at 5:30 pm. The contest will take place at East Chicago Central High School.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
