JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis women's soccer team played the favorite in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday evening, picking up a 2-0 win over Governors State University. The victory extends the Fighting Saints' conference record to 6-1-1 on the year and 10-5-1 overall. St. Francis honored its eight seniors -
Isabel Diez,
Citlali Perez,
Krystal Rodriguez,
Giselle Mata,
Cara Planeta,
Jalyssa Villafuerte,
Galilea Medina and
Litzy Flores - before the matchup against the Jaguars.
First Half
St. Francis took control in the first half with
Isabel Diez making the goalie work early as she fired off a quick shot before
Jalyssa Villafuerte,
Citlali Perez and
Cara Planeta got in on the action. Governors State (2-13-0, 0-8-0 CCAC) gained its first look in the 5th minute, but
Krystal Rodriguez denied the attempt to keep the score locked at 0-0. The Saints continued to put pressure on the Jaguar defense with a pair of shots before the guests retaliated with three shots of their own between the 23rd and 29th minutes. St. Francis did not let up its attack, taking the frame's final nine attempts at scoring - including a near goal by
Litzy Flores that ricocheted off the GSU crossbar in the 32nd minute - before the end of the half. The Saints' defense held Governors State to just six shots over the first 45 minutes, while USF authored 16.
Second Half
After the break, it was the Saints again dominating the field, taking 13 shots to the Jaguars' three. Its aggressive efforts were soon rewarded in the 52nd minute when Diez pushed one in from midfield to hit Flores in the middle, who then sent home the score to put USF up 1-0. That one-point advantage would hold until one minute remaining in the contest, when Diez claimed a spot in the scoring column after she floated a shot from the top of the box over the GSU keeper's head allowing St. Francis to walk away with the 2-0 win.
Jasmin Valles was credited with the assist.
The Saints totaled 29 shots in the match (11 on goal) compared to Governors State's nine (three on goal). Diez had nine shot attempts in the contest, while Flores took seven. Rodriguez grabbed three saves in her 45 minutes of work, while
Giselle Mata manned the net for the final 45 minutes of the match.
Up Next
St. Francis will be back in action next Saturday, Oct. 24 when it travels to South Bend, Ind. to take on the Titans of Indiana University South Bend. The contest will take place at Newton Park and is slatted to begin at 11 am CST.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
