After a slow start to the season that saw Saint Xavier University men’s soccer team lose their first five games of the season, the team is starting to play much better.
They have won three out of their last four games and have broken out of their scoring slump. The team has been led by sophomore forward Marco Gutierrez, who has eight goals and two assists for a team-leading total of 18 points. His phenomenal play over the past week was recognized as he was named CCAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week.
The Cougars began their impressive play with a close win over the Judson University Eagles in front of the home crowd on Oct. 2. The team was led to victory by a dominant performance put on by Gutierrez. He channeled his inner Lionel Messi by scoring all four of the team’s goals for the game.
He scored his first goal of the game using a header off of a throw-in by senior defender Dale Judickas in the 27th minute to tie game at one.
Early in the second half, though, Judson sophomore forward Walter Lopez scored on a shot from 45 yards out to give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
In the 71st minute, however, Gutierrez would unleash and take over the game for the Cougars.
He scored his second goal of the game off a rebound from a shot attempt to tie the game at two. He scored the hat trick eight minutes later off of a short shot that was assisted by junior defender/midfielder Xavier Corona.
Gutierrez put another one in for good measure in the 82nd minute off an assist from junior midfielder/forward Tom Lojek.
The Eagles did get one more goal from senior midfielder Santiago Munoz in the 87th minute to cut the deficit to one, but the Cougars held on for a final score of 4-3.
The Cougars finished with nine shots on goal and of course Gutierrez scored on four of them. Senior goalkeeper Kyle Held finished with five saves for the team to get his second win of the season.
Next up for the Cougars was a road game against Purdue University Calumet in Munster, Ind., last Saturday. The game got off to a late start because of thunderstorms in the area, but once the delay was over the Cougars came out poised for a second-straight win.
The Cougars grabbed momentum and the lead early on in the game when Judickas put a shot in from 20 yards out to give the team a 1-0 advantage in the sixth minute.
After halftime the Cougars notched another one on the scoreboard when freshmen midfielder Kamil Szczesniak scored to make it 2-0. The last goal of the game was scored by junior midfielder Brandon Simoes off an assist by Gutierrez.
The team turned in a magnificent defensive performance to help give Held his second shutout of the season. He only had to make two saves on the night against the Peregrines, who dropped to 1-3-1 in conference play with the loss.
The team took the field against Trinity International University on a roll last Tuesday night.
There wasn’t a shooting star in the sky Tuesday night because it took the form of Gutierrez. Two games removed from his four goal masterpiece, Gutierrez was primed to dominate again.
He scored the first goal of the game in the 16th minute of action when the Trojans’ goalkeeper misplayed the ball and Gutierrez kicked shot in from 10 yards deep.
A few moments later senior midfielder James King gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead after an assist from Simoes and another mistake by the TIU goalkeeper. The Cougars scored again with five minutes left in the half off of throw-in that was headed in by Simoes.
The scoring explosion continued for the Cougars after halftime, even though the Trojans switched goalkeepers at halftime.
It didn’t matter to Gutierrez. He scored his second goal off a header from a corner kick in the 59th minute. He scored his third goal for his second hat trick of the season in the 71st minute on a penalty kick.
The final score was 5-0, giving Held his third shutout and the Cougars their third-straight win.
The streak would not last forever. The team had their three-game winning streaked snapped on Saturday by conference foe Olivet Nazarene University 1-0.
The Cougars next home game is October 16 at 7:00. See you there.
Damone Griffin
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