JOLIET, Ill. -- A goal off the foot of junior forward
Rogelio Valles in the 6th minute enabled the University of St. Francis men's soccer team to claim a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory after defeating Governors State University 1-0 on Friday afternoon. With the win, the Fighting Saints improve their overall record to 3-2-6 on the year and 1-0-4 in league play, while Governors State drops to 1-10-2, 0-4-1.
First Half
St. Francis took control in the first half with Valles and
Jonathan Mendez making the GSU goalie work early as both players fired off quick shots on target before Valles netted the only goal of the match on his second attempt with an assist from
Benisio Gamino at the 6:42 mark. Governors State responded by gaining its first look four minutes later, followed by another attempt at the 16:57 mark, but USF defenders denied each of the attempts at the equalizer with deflections to keep the score locked at 1-0. The Saints continued to lay on offensive pressure, but the Jaguar defense held steady only allowing three more USF shot attempt before the end of the half. USF's defense did not give Governors State much to work with as the guests were unable to produce any looks on target throughout the duration of the half. In total, the Saints' defense held GSU to five shots over the first 45 minutes, while USF authored six.
Second Half
After the break, GSU adjusted to a more aggressive offensive strategy with its efforts producing four of the first five, albeit unsuccessful, shot attempts of the period. Entering into the final three minutes of the match and needing a goal to extend the game, Governors State had once last chance in front of the net.  The Jaguars were not able to convert on their header attempt, however, after seeing the try sail wide left of the net leaving the half scoreless and allowing St. Francis to secure the 1-0 win.
Governors State edged out the Saints in shot attempts on the night, 10-8, with USF registering three shots on-target, compared to the Jaguars' one. Valles and Gamino led the way for USF with two shots apiece, while Mendez,
Adrian Gonzalez Martin,
Ted Barker and
Antwan Esparza each registered one.Â
Logan LaFrance authored the win in net for St. Francis by recording one save in his 90 minutes of work.
Up Next
The Saints will take the field again on Saturday, Oct. 17 when they faceoff against Olivet Nazarene University. The match is slated for a 1 pm CST kickoff at Snowbarger Athletic Complex in Bourbonnais, Ill.
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