The scoreless streak for the men’s soccer team came to an end on Saturday, but the season-long winless streak remains intact. The Cougars played to a 1-1 draw in a scrimmage game on Aug. 17 against Eastern Illinois University, but they
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could not tally a goal in either of the first two regular season games.
The Aug. 22 regular-season and home-opening match against the University of Rio Grande culminated in a 1-0 loss.
The defense and keeping was solid in that contest, with the Cougars allowing the lone goal on just five shots on goal (13 shots overall).
Senior AJ Pfatschbacher got the start in goal for the Cougars. After one save and one goal against, he was replaced in the second half by first-year keeper Frank Valle, who would make three saves in his 45 minutes of play.
But Rio Grande’s defense and goalkeeping was even sharper, and therein lay the rub.
Saint Xavier’s offense could get nothing going. The Cougars were limited to just six shots—only two of which would be directed at the opposing goal.
And so it was that the first game of the season for the Cougars would end in a disappointing 1-0 loss, but it would end with Saint Xavier taking solace in its solid play on its own half of the field.
Unfortunately for Saint Xavier fans who came out to watch the Cougars last Wednesday, that consistent defending and goalkeeping would not transfer over to the next game, a 4-0 loss to the Aquinas College Saints.
The Cougars kept the contest close in the first half, again with Pfatschbacher getting the start in net. He stopped everything that came his way with the exception of a header from 10 yards out.
Things then got a little dicey in the second half.
Pfatschbacher was the recipient of a red card after making a pair of saves in the 69th minute, which required head coach Ed Vucinic to go to Valle in relief.
Valle could not keep the good goalkeeping going. Aquinas struck almost immediately with a 20-yard free kick that beat Valle and put the Saints up 2-0.
Aquinas would add a couple more insurance tallies to put the match out of reach for the Cougars.
Saint Xavier was much better at getting scoring opportunities in that contest, though, which should be cause for optimism.
Junior forward Marco Gutierrez alone had eight shots (six on goal), but opposing keeper Christian Brink was simply better that day.
And then, on Saturday, the scoring drought ended in a 3-1 loss at the University of Northwestern Ohio, a team that received votes to be ranked in the NAIA preseason top-25 coaches’ poll.
It was in the 247th minute of regular season play that the Cougars pounced for their first goal.
Gutierrez received a feed in the 67th minute of play from junior forward Roger Ciszewski and was able to beat opposing keeper Liam Davies for his and the team’s first goal of the season.
But the offense still did not create enough opportunities for itself. The Cougars totaled four shots (three on goal), and no one player had more than one shot attempt.
Conversely, Northwestern Ohio managed to get 13 shots away, six of which would be targeted for the net.
But Pfatschbacher was ineligible to play because of the red card in the game against Aquinas. (Under NAIA rules, players that have been ejected from a game are neither eligible to return to the game from which they have been ejected nor eligible to play in the following contest.)
So, Valle was forced into the starting role and allowed three goals and made three stops in the match.
The men’s soccer team began the season in similar fashion one year ago, losing each of its first five regular season games.
But that did not keep the Cougars from making it to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference playoffs, as they would go 7-4 during the rest of the season.
But should the Cougars have any hope of making the playoffs this season, they will have to find a way to create more offensive pressure. In addition, the goalkeeping position will have to be a source of stability for the squad.
After a road contest against Goshen College tonight, the Cougars return home to Deaton Memorial Field Saturday to take on Benedictine University at noon.
And then the real schedule begins. Conference play—the most important factor in reaching the CCAC playoffs—begins Sept. 24 and continues through the beginning of November.
By then, we better know just how good this team can be.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
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@TimCarroll_XAV