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On September 30, the Saint Xavier men’s soccer team played their first game of the week against St. Francis. The Cougars’ offense was in full force in this game, leading to an easy win against one of their conference rival.
The game did not start out well for the Cougars as USF had three straight comer kicks within the first three minutes of the game. St. Francis would get a shot attempt off of a header in the 11th minute, but it went wide left.
Two minutes later, the Cougars would score the first goal of the game to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. The goal was scored by midfielder Ricardo Aldape off an assist by forward Orlando Tapia. From there, St. Francis would try to respond, peppering the Cougars with shots in a desperate attempt to tie the game.
However, goalie Frank Valle brought his A-game for this game, saving three potentially game tying shots on goal and leading the Cougars into halftime with a 1-0 lead. It would not take long for the Cougars’ offense to get going in the second half as forward Roger Ciszewski would extend the lead to 2-0 at the 52:00 minute mark off of another assist by Tapia.
After a dry spell, the Cougars’ offense would strike once again, this time forward Marco Gutierrez would put in the goal in the 66th minute off of yet another assist by Tapia to give him his third assist of the game.
That goal would prove to be enough for the Cougars as their defense would remain sound for the remainder of the game, not allowing any shots from that point forward, en route to a convincing 3-0 win for Saint Xavier.
Valle was a notable performer in this game with a four save clean sheet. Tapia was also a star in this game, assisting on all three goals in the game. The Cougars looked to continue their stellar play with another game on the schedule over the weekend.
On Saturday, October 3, the Saint Xavier men’s soccer team would play their second game of the week against Judson University on the road. The Cougars would continue the formula that helped them win their game earlier in the week, as good offense and good defense led them to a perfect week.
The Cougars’ offense started out slow as they missed a couple of good opportunities to score early in the game. However, the old saying the third time’s the charm would hold true as the Cougars would capitalize on their third opportunity to score to take a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.
The goal was scored by midfielder Ricardo Aldape with an assist credited to forward Orlando Tapia. The Cougars would use the momentum of their first goal to their advantage, as they did not relent on their attack and capitalizing on another opportunity in the 24th minute to take a 2-0 lead.
The goal was once again scored by Aldape, his second of the game. Judson would attempt to cut into their deficit right after the Cougars’ second goal, getting their first shot on goal of the game in the 29th minute, which was saved by goalie Frank Valle.
That would be the only opportunity Judson would get to score in the entire game as the Cougars’ defense totally locked down Judson’s offense throughout the entire game. It also helped the the Cougars possessed the ball for the majority of the game.
A notable moment in an otherwise pedestrian second half came when Aldape had the ball on his foot in the 84th minute with the opportunity to collect a hat trick. However, Judson’s goalie would make a good save to deny Aldape what would have been a much deserved hat trick. The Cougars would win this game 2-0 to complete the perfect week.
The star of the game was obviously Aldape with his two goals. Tapia also recorded a point in this game with an assist. Valle had his second clean sheet of the week with a one save performance in this game against Judson University.
With the perfect week, the Cougars’ record now stands at 6-4 with a conference record of 3-1. The Cougars however could not keep the good times rolling. On Tuesday, the men’s soccer team lost to Cardinal Stritch University.
Despite a very lively effort, the Cougars just could not respond to a goal scored by Cardinal Stritch University within minute 37 of the game. The Cougars, however, will be playing in Toyota Park this Saturday to face off against Roosevelt University at 2 p.m.
John Romando
Senior Sports Editor
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