DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Addie Kerkhoff sailed a free kick from midfield over the heads of all defenders, before Mia Hefner headed a shot to the right corner of the goal to provide the only scoring in St. Ambrose University's (Iowa) 1-0 victory over the University of St. Francis women's soccer team on Tuesday night. The goal came just over 15 minutes into the second half and proved to be the deciding factor of the championship match of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, which ended the Fighting Saints' season at 13-4-3.
First Half
The championship matchup showcased a back-and-forth battle for much of the first half with the two teams trading shot attempts during the opening 45 minutes. St. Ambrose registered three shots on goal and seven total attempts in the period, while the Saints targeted the goal twice amongst their five total tries. St. Francis had the best chance to break the deadlock with its first shot attempt 13 minutes into play, but after a
Mia Ocana shot attempt was saved by SAU keeper Ella Oscarsson, a subsequent shot from
Ariadne Gonzalez 44 seconds later sailed wide of the net keeping the score locked in at 0-0 heading into the halftime break.
Second Half
St. Ambrose (13-5-3) had the majority of the scoring opportunities in the second half, taking 10 of the combined 15 total shots and accounting for three of the four shots on goal. After the Bees fired off the five shots of the frame, the hosts connected for Hefner's score at the 60:47 mark putting the Saints in a position to need to find the equalizer quickly.
Andrea Aguirre provided USF's first attempt four minutes later followed by a try from
Kelly Flores and a second attempt from Aguirre. St. Francis' final shot of the match came in the 88th after the offense worked itself into an open look from 15 yards out. The attempt sailed high of the net, however, securing the win for the Bees with a final score of 1-0.
Flores, Ocana and Aguirre led USF with two shots apiece, while Flores, Ocana and
Charlene Mendoza each accounted for the team's three shots on goal.
Giselle Mata collected five saves during her 90 minutes in the net.
Flores finished the season as the Saints sole leader in three offensive categories: assists (7), total shots (89) and total shots on goal (46). She shared the game-winning goals (3) lead with
Isabel Diez, while Diez concluded her junior campaign ranking first on the team in goals (12) and total points (28). The Saints finished the season 6-3 in one-goal decisions and set a new program record for victories with 13.
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