MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The University of St. Francis women's soccer team scored 11 goals and
Isabel Diez recorded her first career collegiate hat trick in an 11-1 win over Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Mount Mary University (Wis.) on Saturday afternoon. The victory marks win number nine on the season for USF, carrying the Fighting Saints to a 9-5-1 overall record and a 5-1-1 league record.
First Half
A strong offensive attack and solid defense saw St. Francis controlling the possession and pinning Mount Mary (2-9-1, 1-7-0 CCAC) into its backfield throughout the majority of the half. Five minutes into the contest
Ariadne Gonzalez struck first with USF's first shot attempt of the day. A save from MMU keeper Anna Corpas Salcedo would halt the try, but the Saints' offense kept pressing, with Diez who found the back of the Blue Angel net on her first shot attempt of the afternoon in the 6th minute. It was not long after Diez's goal that the Saints struck again to extend their lead to 2-0 with Gonzalez providing an assist to
Carisma Rosales at the 10:32 mark. St. Francis would then score on its fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth shots of the period between the 16th and 26
th minutes to widen the score to 6-0 with
Citlali Perez (assist - Gonzalez),
Emma Navarro (assist -
Sofia Velazquez), Diez (assist -
Litzy Flores) and Gonzalez (assist - Diez) being credited with the scores, respectively. Mount Mary then countered with a goal of its own one minute later only to have the match see USF's seventh goal scored at the 29:29 mark off the foot of Rosales - her second of the day. The Saints would continue to press in the final 15 minutes, accounting for four more shots in the opening frame with one more goal being scored by
Nikki Guzman (assisted by Perez) before heading into the locker room with the 8-1 lead.
Second Half
The Saints kept command over the Blue Angels in the early minutes of the second half. USF came out of the gates hot, putting up three strong shots that resulted in saves during the first 17 minutes of the stanza. St. Francis' fourth attempt, however, was the one that would succeed as Flores connected for a goal with an assist by
Jalyssa Villafuerte that gave the Saints their ninth tally of the afternoon in the 63rd minute. The next two shot attempts would also result in goals for the Saints which were scored exactly one minute apart from each other at the 65:49 and 66:49 marks. Flores provided an assist to Diez who was credited with the first scoring strike - marking the first hat trick of her collegiate career, while Navarro was ascribed ownership of the latter to push the final score to 11-1.
In total, USF registered 21 shot attempts with 18 total on-target, while holding Mount Mary to just three shots for the match.
Giselle Mata recorded her eighth win after logging the first 45 minutes in the USF net.
Krystal Rodriguez took over keeper duties in the second half and recorded two saves.
Next Up
USF returns to action on Oct. 21 when it takes on Governors State University. Opening kickoff against the Jaguars is scheduled for 7 pm at Joliet Memorial Stadium.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
