JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's soccer team celebrated its senior class by posting its seventh shutout of the season with a 5-0 win over Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference first-year member Mount Mary University (Wis.) on Saturday afternoon.  The victory marks win number seven on the season for USF, carrying the Fighting Saints to a 7-2-2 overall record and a 4-1-1 league record.  St. Francis honored its eight seniors – Andrea Aguirre, Kelly Flores, Nikki Guzman, Kadixamayrin Mireles, Mia Ocana, Ixchel Pelayo, Cassandra Rosales and Sophielena Valles Vargas - before the matchup against the Blue Angels.

First Half
A strong offensive attack and solid defense saw St. Francis controlling the possession and pinning Mount Mary into its backfield throughout the majority of the half.  Not even 20 seconds had elapsed from the opening kickoff before Guzman struck first with USF's first shot attempt of the day.  A save from MMU keeper Anna Corpas Salcedo would halt the try, but the Saints' offense kept carving out looks, putting a high amount of pressure on the Blue Angel defense.  Seven different Saints would again target the goal with 15 total tries over the next 31 minutes, before Citlali Perez found the back of the Blue Angel net on her first shot attempt of the afternoon.  The successful attempt would break the scoreless tie and allow St. Francis to claim a 1-0 lead.  It was not long after Perez's goal that USF struck again to extend its lead to 2-0.  Junior Isabel Diez was able to score after intercepting a MMU goal kick from 22 yards out at the 35:39 mark.  St. Francis would continue to press in the final 10 minutes, accounting for seven more shots in the opening frame before heading into the locker room with the 2-0 lead.

Second Half
The Saints kept command over the Blue Angels in the early minutes of the second half.  Valles came out of the gates hot, putting up two strong shots that sailed just wide of the net in the first two minutes of the period.  USF's third attempt, however, was the one that would succeed as a Diez shot off a free kick three yards outside the middle of the box gave the Saints their third goal of the day in the 48th minute.  After three more missed attempts over the next six minutes, Mount Mary would be the one to broaden the Saints' lead to 4-0 as misplayed back-pass resulted in an own goal for the Blue Angels.  With the game in hand, St. Francis was able to add one final goal to its total in the 79th minute with Guzman hitting the back of the MMU net off an assist from Jimena Diaz for her first goal of the season.

In total, USF registered 52 shot attempts with 25 total on-target, while holding Mount Mary to just one shot for the match.  Mireles recorded her fourth win and third solo shutout of her career after logging all 90 minutes in the USF net.

Next Up
USF returns to action on Oct. 11 when it travels to La Crosse, Wis. to take on Viterbo University (Wis.).  Opening kickoff against the V-Hawks is scheduled for 3 pm in the Viterbo Outdoor Athletics Complex.

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