SXU Athletics
The St. Xavier men’s soccer team had been scoreless until the second half of its Sept. 6 game, and that was when it all turned around.
It began with putting the ball in the goal for the first time. Then came a 2-1 overtime victory over Goshen College last Wednesday. Then the Cougars made it a streak with their 3-1 win over Benedictine University on Saturday.
As the offense continues to improve, the wins begin to pile up.
The Cougars have now scored one, two and three goals in their last three games, respectively. Thus, it is only logical to assume that they will score 16 against Robert Morris University, their final opponent of the regular season and 16th opponent since the beginning of the scoring/winning streak.
But even if they cannot score 16 goals in that contest, Cougar fans will still have these games against Goshen and Benedictine upon which to look back fondly.
The Goshen match was scoreless through the first 45 minutes of play. Only in the second half did any offensive fireworks fly.
In the 57th minute of play, junior forward Marco Gutierrez put a shot on net that opposing goalkeeper Dean Nafziger was able to deflect out beyond the goal.
Senior midfielder Brandon Simoes took the ensuing corner kick and deftly found Gutierrez, who got in better position than his marker and headed the ball on net where Nafziger could not make the stop.
That lead would hold up for most of the remaining 33 minutes, but not all of it.
In the 85th minute of play, Goshen finally broke through with a goal of its own. Midfielder Joel Yoder crossed to fellow midfielder Caleb Longenecker, who buried the ball from 25 yards out.
It was the only lapse in goalkeeping from senior keeper AJ Pfatschabcher, who totaled seven saves and just the lone goal against.
St. Xavier was on the attack for the remainder of regulation time, but nothing would come of it. So on the match went to extra time.
Again, St. Xavier was the main attacking team. The Cougars got three shots off in extra time, including the game-winner.
On sustained pressure in the 94th minute, Simoes and Gutierrez flipped the script from the first goal. This time, Gutierrez led Simoes with a through ball that set him up perfectly for the game-winning line drive.
After Pfatschbacher’s performance kept the Cougars in the game against Goshen, freshman keeper Frank Valle took his place in net against Benedictine.
Valle filled Pfatschbacher’s shoes solidly, allowing just one goal while countering with six saves.
Valle did so especially well considering the late deficit after a scoreless first half of play.
After a foul in the box in the 61st minute, Valle found himself facing Benedictine’s Zephen Merreighn from the penalty spot. Merreighn was able to bury, but it was St. Xavier all the way from that point onward.
The Cougars responded almost immediately when, in the 64th minute, Gutierrez equalized from in front of the net on a free kick from junior defender Dan Cordes.
The Cougars would take the lead in the 76th minute, when Cordes found midfielder Tom Lojek, who put the ball on net. Opposing goalkeeper Antonio Marti-Polo deflected the ball, but he could not get enough to keep it out of the goal.
Then, in the 84th minute, the Cougars put the game away. Simoes, one of the heroes of the Goshen game, scored from five yards out to ensure St. Xavier victory.
St. Xavier continues to get its attacking in order. The Cougars had 15 shots in the Goshen game and another 14 in the Benedictine match, but they would like to get more of those shots toward the net. Only four shots were on target against Goshen, but that number improved to eight against Benedictine.
St. Xavier will try to continue to score and win this week with matches tonight at Cornerstone University and on Friday, when the Cougars host Marygrove College for a 6 p.m. matchup at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
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