JOLIET, Ill. -- A balanced offensive attack by the University of St. Francis men's soccer team propelled the Fighting Saints to a 4-1 non-conference victory over Hannibal LaGrange University (Mo.) on Tuesday night. USF led 2-1 at the break courtesy of a pair of goals from
Benisio Gamino and
Gabriel Estrella before
Jack Browne and
Juan Jimenez added the cherry toppers in the second half. The Saints were denied their second shutout of the season early in the first period when the Trojans got on the board first in just the 6th minute of play. St. Francis' win improves its overall record to 2-1-2 on the season.
First Half
The Trojans (3-3-2) started on the attack early in the first half, and were the first who got on the scoreboard when their second shot attempt of the evening found its way past USF keeper
Elio Di Gennaro in the 6th minute of play. USF was quick to respond, however, as Gamino authored the equalizer just seven minutes later. USF continued to press, taking an additional four shots over the next 26 minutes, with Estrella finding success on the Saints' fourth try as he notched his first goal of the season off an assist from
Noah Landers after a corner kick in the 39th minute. USF kept the pressure on the Trojan defense throughout the remainder of the frame, but neither team produced an additional threat allowing the St. Francis to hold its 2-1 lead at the intermission.
Second Half
The second half showcased the backline of Saint defenders making any Trojan attack difficult, while its offense made the most of its three shot attempt opportunities. The Saints continued utilizing their strategy into the 58th minute with Browne benefiting from a successful penalty kick to fire a strike past the HLGU keeper and extend USF's lead to 3-1 with an insurance goal. The Saints' defense held strong over the next 27 minutes fighting off nine subsequent Hannibal-LaGrange shot attempts and four corner kick tries before Di Gennaro closed the door on the guests by denying six strong Trojan tries in the period. With the clock ticking down, St. Francis would chalk up one more tally in the goal column with Jimenez connecting for a score off an assist from
Austin Dellezay with 4:10 remaining to lock in the final score at 4-1.
Hannibal-LaGrange took 22 shots as a team in the loss, besting St. Francis, which ended the match with 10 shots. Browne authored a team-high three attempts (two on-target) for USF, while seven others each tallied one. In goal for USF, Di Gennaro made 12 saves, while allowing the one goal.
Up Next
The Saints will use the next three days to prepare for Saturday (Sept. 19) when they take on the Cougars of University of Saint Francis (Ind.). The match is slated to begin at 5 pm at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium in Fort Wayne, Ind.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
