On October 14, the St. Xavier men’s soccer team took the pitch to take on conference foe, St. Ambrose University. The Cougars battled their conference foe in a defensive battle that was decided on a goal by Saint Xavier that was scored late in the first half.
The game started out well for the Cougars, as they would apply consistent pressure on St. Ambrose early and refused to relent. However, the Cougars’ offense was not able to put any of their many chances into the back of the net.
That changed in a crucial moment in the game that occurred between the 38th and 40th minute. In the 38th minute, St. Ambrose would get their first shot on goal on a great chance, but it was saved by goalkeeper Frank Valle.
On the ensuing counterattack, the Cougars would break through with a goal by forward Marco Gutierrez in the 40th minute to take a 1-0 lead. After the goal, St. Ambrose would get one more opportunity to score before the break, but it was once again saved by Valle.
In the second half, the Cougars would display great ball control, keeping the ball away from their opponent to ensure victory, while also going on the attack when the time was right. St. Ambrose would get only one opportunity to score in the second half, and again the shot was saved by Valle to preserve a personal three save clean sheet and to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars would look to build on the momentum from this win when they played Holy Cross later in the week.On Saturday, October 17, the Saint Xavier men’s soccer played their second conference game of the week against Holy Cross College.
The game was another closely matched contest that saw the Cougars lose due to a late penalty kick. The first half did not start well for the Cougars, as Holy Cross would control the ball and put multiple shots on goal.
Luckily for them, goalie Frank Valle stepped up big by making two early saves. After that early barrage, the Cougars’ offense would help stabilize the game for them as they would go on the attack more often in the latter part of the first half.
The Cougars’ best opportunity to score came in the 37th minute where the hero of their game earlier in the week, forward Marco Gutierrez, would get a header on net that was saved by Holy Cross’ goalie.
That save would send the game into the half tied at 0-0. Much like the beginning of the first half, the beginning of the second half saw Holy Cross control the ball for a long duration of time and get multiple shots toward the SXU net.
But once again, after an early barrage, the Cougars’ offense would spring back to life and stabilize the game for the Cougars. A key moment in the second half came in the 66th minute when forward Mike McLaughlin would get a prime opportunity to put the Cougars on the board. Unfortunately, that did not happen this keeping the game tied at 0.
The most crucial moment of the game came in the 82nd minute when defender Farai Tsingano would commit a penalty in the goalie box, giving Holy Cross a penalty shot. This penalty shot would prove to be the dagger in the Cougars’ hope of winning the game as HCC would convert the penalty kick and win the game 1-0.
With the split, the Cougars’ record now sits at 7-7 with a conference record of 4-4. The Cougars will try to get back in the win column on Tuesday, October 20, when they play a conference road game against Trinity Cristian College.
Unfortunately, results will not be available by the time The Xavierite goes to print.
John Romando
Senior Sports Editor
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