JOLIET, Ill. --
Litzy Flores recorded her first career hat trick and the University of St. Francis women's soccer team authored its eighth win of the season with an 8-0 victory over Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Tuesday night at Joliet Memorial Stadium. The senior midfielder scored two goals before the break and also converted the team's fifth tally seven minutes into the second half to achieve the rare feat. With the win, St. Francis improves to 8-5-1 on the year and 4-1-1 in conference play.
First Half
St. Francis dominated possession the entirety of the half and erupted for four goals, while not allowing Calumet St. Joseph (0-11-0, 0-7-0 CCAC) any offensive chances. Flores got the scoring going early for USF after she missiled a ball past the CCSJ keeper with an assist from
Jalyssa Villafuerte in the fifth minute of play. The authoritative goal would set the tone for the match as the Saints kept the offensive pressure consistent throughout the remainder of the 45-minute session. It took St. Francis less than two minutes to double its lead when Flores connected for an unassisted scoring strike off of a deflection for her second goal at the 6:51 mark. In the 12th minute, the Crimson Wave defense was met with another USF offensive charge when
Melani Arredondo scored USF's third goal of the contest off an assist from teammate
Isabel Diez. Before the half concluded, Diez soon had her turn in the scoring parade, netting her first goal in the 23rd minute which was assisted from Flores to up USF's advantage to 4-0. The Saints totaled 19 shots in the period with eight being on-target.
Second Half
The second half showcased another strong performance from the St. Francis front line as the Saints scored another four goals in the half. The Saints kept the scoring going in the 52nd minute when
Ariadne Gonzalez sent a cross that found Flores, who connected it for the score to complete the hat trick and turn the lead to 5-0.
Citlali Perez joined in on the fun seven minutes later when she authored an unassisted goal to extend the USF lead further. Villafuerte would then register her second assist on the night in the 63rd minute when her cross allowed Diez to fire her second goal of the match past the CCSJ keeper to mark the score at 7-0.
Emma Navarro then capped St. Francis' second half scoring with her successful shot at the 88:26 mark, which was an unassisted strike to end things at 8-0.
In total, USF authored a season-high 41 shot attempts with 21 total on-target, while holding Calumet to zero shots for the match.
Krystal Rodriguez recorded her first win of the season in net for the Saints after logging 90 minutes in the shutout.
Up Next
The Saints will match up against Mount Mary University (WI) on Saturday, Oct. 17. The match is slatted to begin at 1:30pm in Milwaukee, Wis.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
