Cougars Celebrate Overtime Win at Deaton Field SXU Athletics
The Saint Xavier University (SXU) women’s soccer team took down the Judson University (JU) Eagles in a 1-0 thriller to secure their spot in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) semifinals.
Despite a 1-5 start to the season the Cougars managed to finish 7-7-2 on the year and a 6-2-2 record in conference play to secure the 4th seed in the CCAC playoffs.
Their 4th place finish allowed them to host 5th seeded Judson University to open up the CCAC tournament. Judson went 11-6-1 in the regular season and had also defeated SXU 3-1 at home back in mid-October.
The Cougars went into this game with momentum as they were able to close out the regular season, winning two straight and snapping their two game losing streak.
In a win or go home match both teams started out aggressive, hoping to look for the all important early lead but the goals just never came.
It was an all out battle of the defenses for this match with both teams continuing to apply pressure throughout the late stages of the game.
At the end of the first half SXU out shot JU 3-2 and created more opportunities, but they were never able to connect for the goal.
In the second half, the Cougars took a leap and managed to keep the ball on the Eagles side. They were also able to more than double their shot total with seven shots, but it wasn’t enough to get the ball in the net.
As regulation came to an end the goal just never arrived for either side, sending this do or die game into overtime.
A year ago, the Cougars saw their season end in double overtime against St. Ambrose University and were not ready to have that happen once again.
The game clinching goal came in minute 99 when junior forward Cami Butler received an assist from team captain and senior forward Alex Jonaitis. Butler’s game-sealing goal was her 8th of the year, and it was Jonaitis’s 7th assist.
SXU finished the night with seven shots on goal, 12 in total. On the defensive side, senior goalkeeper Natalie Dybas recorded six saves on seven attempted shots by the Eagles.
This game was about as even as you can get as both teams had six saves and managed to split possession time as well, especially in the first half.
The Cougars 1-0 win over JU snapped a seven game winless streak against the Eagles, with their last win coming in 2019.
SXU now heads to Bourbonnais, Ill. to take on the number 1 seed Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) in the semifinals. ONU has now won nine straight games including playoffs, and they tied 1-1 in their regular season matchup against SXU.
A mid-season turnaround now has the Cougars just two wins away from a conference title and a spot in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament.
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