The Cougars of Men’s Soccer continued their wonderful play in the month of October with a 1-0 win against Illinois Institute of Technology. The win was the sixth win of the month for the team and also their 3rd shutout of the month.
The go ahead goal was put in early on by the team’s leading goal scorer and World Hyundai Saint Xavier University Athlete of the Month, Marco Gutierrez. He scored his 9th goal of the season in the early going off an assist from senior midfielder James King to give the Cougars a quick 1-0 lead. That was all the Cougars would need to win this nonconference road game.
The team was led on defense by senior goalkeeper Kyle Held who had six crucial saves on the night. It was his third shutout of the month and his fourth shutout of the season dropping his goals against average 0.79 on the season.
The Scarlet Hawks launched 16 shots but only six of them were on goal and Held continued his fantastic play by stopping every one of them. The defense also played very well as they locked down the Scarlet Hawks.
Finally the team moved up to a .500 record after the win making their overall record 7-7-1. The team continued to build even more momentum going toward CCAC Tournament which starts in a week on Nov. 9.
It was a proud day on Saturday afternoon for several members of the Saint Xavier University Men’s Soccer. The team honored their four senior members playing in their final regular season game at home in front of the crowd at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field. Before the game against Roosevelt University starting goalkeeper Kyle Held, midfielder James King, defensemen Ramon Diaz II, and defensemen Dale Judickas were honored for their time playing at SXU.
After the Cougar fans and soccer team were done celebrating their senior it was time to go for another win and move above .500 for the first time this year. Both teams played hard but the Roosevelt University Lakers took this game 1-0.
The game was tied at zero until the 69th minute when Roosevelt freshmen defender Jackson Grueber scored off a free kick from 50 yards out. That goal was all the Lakers needed to win as the Cougars weren’t able to score a goal.
The team was led by star junior midfielder Brandon Simoes who had three shots on goal for the game. Held playing in his last regular season home game of his career had four saves on the day in net for the Cougars.
The loss dropped the Cougars conference record down to 6-3-1 but fear not Cougar fans with a win on the road against Robert Morris University they still have a shot at hosting a home game in the first round of the CCAC Tournament.
The crucial game is going to be played at Arlington Heights, Ill. at 4pm on Tues Nov. 5. There is only a couple games left but the team is rounding into form which is good because the conference tournament starts this Saturday.
Damone Griffin
Copy Editor