Skip To Main Content

University of St. Francis (III.)

University of St. Francis (III.)
Juan Jimenez MS (9/6/25)
3
Winner Beloit College BC (2-2-0)
2
St. Francis (IL) USF (0-3-1)
Winner
Beloit College BC
(2-2-0)
3
Final
2
St. Francis (IL) USF
(0-3-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Beloit College BC 0 3 3
St. Francis (IL) USF 1 1 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Saints Unable To Keep Up With Beloit, Fall 3-2 In Non-Conference Action

JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis men's soccer team put together a solid first half, but could not hold on as Beloit College (Wis.) defeated the Fighting Saints by a score of 3-2 on Saturday night.  The loss drops USF's record to 0-3-1 overall.

First Half
St. Francis kept offensive pressure on Beloit's back line in the opening 45 minutes, but a strong defensive effort from the Saints kept the Buccaneers from having a solid opportunity at the goal.  Beloit would record just three shots in the period, but only one would threaten USF goalkeeper Merlijn van der Veen.  On the other end, USF tallied nine shots in total, but Buccaneer keeper David Staats kept the Saints off the board for the first 37 minutes of action with five saves, including one off a penalty kick in the 6th minute.  St. Francis kept its aggressive offense coming and its efforts were rewarded in the 38th minute when Max Gaudry pushed one ahead from the right side to hit Juan Jimenez, who then sent it home from 20 yards to put USF up 1-0. 

Second Half
The second half proved to be full of physical play as five yellow cards and 17 fouls were called after the break.  Beloit's offensive pace increased as each minute went by with the Buccaneer front line putting additional pressure on the Saints' defense.  After USF opened the stanza with a shot on goal four minutes into the frame, Beloit retaliated with five consecutive tries over the next 25 minutes, scoring on its second attempt at the 55:25 mark to tie the score at 1-1.  Sergio Fernandez-Arango was able to swing the momentum back in USF's favor in the 68th minute, however, after a Beloit foul in the box resulted in a successful penalty kick opportunity for the graduate senior.  USF's defense kept the Buccaneers at bay over the next 11 minutes of action, but a handball from USF inside the box at the 79:48 mark proved to be a costly mistake with the ensuing penalty kick resulting in a 2-2 tied score.  The Saints' offense tried to push back, responding by rattling off four shots over the next seven minutes, but it could not connect on a go-ahead goal to take the lead.  In the 86th minute, Beloit was able to break free and connect for the visitors' final score, sneaking one past van der Veen to mark the score at 3-2 and secure the outright victory.

The Saints totaled 17 shots in the match (10 on goal) compared to Beloit's 14 (six).  Gaudry had four shot attempts in the contest, while Antwan Esparza took three.  van der Veen grabbed three 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 Saturday, Sept. 13 when it hosts Cornerstone University (Mich.) at 3:30 pm.  The contest will take place at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
 
Print Friendly Version

Sticky bar

Scores