JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's soccer team hosted Olivet Nazarene University Saturday evening, needing a win to remain as one of two teams left with an undefeated record within Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings, but by night's end, the Fighting Saints had to settle for a 4-3 loss after 90 minutes of play. With the defeat, the Saints (7-5-1, 3-1-1 CCAC) dropped down to fifth place in the league standings with a one-point advantage while the Tigers (7-3-2, 5-0-1 CCAC) remain in sole possession of first place.
First Half
Olivet Nazarene held the advantage over the Saints in the first half, taking 10 shots compared to USF's three. In the second minute, after a handball was committed in the box, the Tigers were able to get on the board first with a successful penalty kick, giving ONU the 1-0 lead. After the goal, St. Francis was able to create three shot attempts over the remaining 43 minutes, but the Tiger lead would hold through the halftime break.
Second Half
The second half showcased four goals coming within a four-minute stretch of play. St. Francis came out quickly and fired off five the first six shots of the half before
Isabel Diez drove home the frame's first goal, launching the ball past ONU keeper Meegan Randall in the 55th minute to tie the score at 1-1. Less than 10 minutes later the Tigers found themselves back out in front with a 2-1 advantage as the beneficiaries of a USF foul in the box that resulted in another successful penalty kick for the guests. Even though the match would witness nine more shot attempts between the two teams over the next 20 minutes of play, that margin would maintain until the scoring flood gates opened with four goals being accounted for between 82:32 – 86:30. The Tigers took credit for the first goal after a shot from 15 yards out deflected off the USF cross bar straight down to nick the goal line to move the score to 3-1. Forty-one seconds later, the guests would see themselves in the scoring column once again after a save from
Giselle Mata resulted in an immediate secondary shot that found the back of the USF net. Then at 85:11,
Citlali Perez would cut the Saints' deficit to two with a score of her own when
Galilea Medina served a long inlet pass from the 35-yard line for the assist that met Perez 15 yards in front of the ONU net for the open look into the lower left corner. The four-minute long scoring frenzy would then conclude at the 86:30 mark when the Tigers scored an own goal against themselves as a result of a deflection off of a defender which gave the Saints their third score of the night. That scoreline would hold the rest of the way as Olivet Nazarene fended off the Saints in the final three minutes and thirty seconds of the match, finalizing the score at 4-3.
For the game, St. Francis took 17 shots and was led by
Carisma Rosales, who had six attempts with three on goal. Perez scored on her only shot attempt, and Diez produced her third goal of the season while taking a total of five shots in the loss. In the net, Mata made six saves, denying a sextet of Olivet Nazarene's shots (22).
Up Next
St. Francis will be back at home on Tuesday night (Oct. 13) when it takes on Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) at 7 pm.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
