BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- A goal off the foot of junior forward Charlene Mendoza in the 18th minute enabled the No.5 seeded University of St. Francis women's soccer team to advance to the semifinal round of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament after upsetting fourth-seeded Olivet Nazarene University on Tuesday night. With the win, USF improves its overall record to 12-3-3 on the year.  The 12 wins of the 2025 season not only ties a program record for victories previously achieved in 2003 and 2022, but it also marks the 50th USF victory for head coach Al Palar.

First Half
St. Francis took control in the first half with Mia Ocana and Kelly Flores making the ONU goalie work early as both players fired off quick shots before Mendoza got in on the action and netted the only goal of the match at the 18:01 mark.  Olivet Nazarene responded by gaining its first look just 27 seconds later, but Giselle Mata denied the attempt at the equalizer to keep the score locked at 1-0.  The Saints continued to lay on offensive pressure, but the Tiger defense held steady only allowing one more USF shot attempt before the end of the half.  USF's defense did not give the Tigers much to work with as the hosts were unable to produce any more looks.  In total, the Saints' defense held ONU to just one shot over the first 45 minutes, while USF authored five.

Second Half
After the break, it was ONU taking the first shot on goal of the second half just eight minutes into the action.  However, once again, it was Mata making the save.  In the 56th minute, Citlali Perez made a good run to fire a shot on goal, but the Tiger keeper denied the attempt with a save to keep the score 1-0.  Olivet Nazarene kept its aggressive offense coming and its efforts were rewarded in authoring the next three corner kicks and five, albeit unsuccessful, shot attempts of the period.  Entering into the final seven minutes of the match and needing a goal to extend the game, the Tigers entered desperation mode and rattled off three attempts in a three-minute timespan.  With less than 30 seconds to go, the hosts were able to earn a corner kick with the final seconds counting down, but the Tigers were not able to convert after a flurry in front of the net, leaving the half scoreless and allowing St. Francis to secure the 1-0 win.

The Tigers edged out the Saints in shot attempts on the night, 11-8, with both teams registering five shots apiece on-target.  Mendoza and Ocana led the way for USF with two shots on goal each, while Perez registered one.  Mata authored the win in net for St. Francis by recording five saves in her 90 minutes of work.

Up Next
With Tuesday's victory, the Saints advance to the semifinal round of the CCAC Tournament on Friday, Nov. 7, where they will face No. 1 seed Holy Cross College (Ind.).  The match will take place on the campus of HCC and is slated for a 6 pm CST kickoff.

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