The Saint Xavier University men’s soccer team fought to climb to the top of the standings and they fought for 120 minutes to be in first place.
The Cougars went on the road to play first-place Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wis. The team had a chance to move into first place if they picked up a win at the Uihlein Soccer Complex.
The teams scrapped and clawed for 90 minutes plus two overtimes, but the game ended in a tie 1-1. The tie reduced Cardinal Stritch’s conference lead to one point, as the Cougars are hot on their heels.
The Wolves remain in first place with a 6-1-2 record (20 points), but the Cougars are in second place with a record of 6-2-1 (19 points).
Neither team was able to get on the scoreboard in the first half, but in the second half Cardinal Stritch put one in the back of the net during the 61st minute. Sophomore midfielder Ignacio Baeza scored on an unassisted goal to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead. The Cougars would soon respond in the 71st minute.
Junior defender Rene Leon would score a clutch goal for the Cougars off of a rebound from a shot off the foot of junior forward Lorenzo Savino. That would become the last goal either team would score the rest of the night because both of the teams’ defenses locked in from that point on.
Both teams’ goalkeepers played extremely well, making sure the game stayed tied up. The Wolves junior goalkeeper Jim Jones led his team by making five saves and SXU senior goalkeeper Kyle Held continued his magnificent play this season by stopping six shots on goal.
After 90 minutes was not enough, the game went into overtime. After two overtime periods neither team could score to secure victory, so the game was called a tie. The Cougars and Wolves should both be proud of the effort put into this game as they played each other to a stalemate on the scoreboard.
The Cougars built a lot of momentum going into this game, especially after finding out that junior midfielder Brandon Simoes was named CCAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Simoes must of have borrowed his teammate Marco Gutierrez’s shoes because he also has an offensive player of the week award. Simoes had four goals over the course of two games for the Cougars including hat trick against Trinity Christian.
The team is still building momentum and sitting atop the conference standings with only three regular season games left.
SXU Men’s Soccer plays their next home game Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. against Roosevelt University on Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field. Come out and support the team.
Damone Griffin
Copy Editor
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