On Saturday, October 5th, The Saint Xavier Men’s Soccer team beat Trinity International’s Trojans. This win extends the cougars win streak to four, keeping them undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 record.
Early on Saint Xavier struggled. Alan Garcia, goalkeeper, conceded in the 25th minute putting the Cougars in an early 1-0 hole. Saint Xavier dominated the rest of the half. Saint Xavier did not allow another shot on goal for the rest and the first half, and even had three shots of their own. In the last five minutes of the first half, the Cougars even had three consecutive corner kicks. However, they were not able to convert on any of their opportunities and entered the half down a goal and being shut out.
Saint Xavier opened the second half strong with two shots, one on goal, in the 50th minute. They were getting similar chances to what they were getting at the end of the first half but still just could not finish. The Cougars needed a break to go their way and that is exactly what they got. In the 53rd minute, there was a handball in the box by a Trojan defender. The referees saw this and SXU got a penalty shot. Cesar Correa was chosen to take it, and scored on the free chance for his team-leading third goal of the season. This tied the game up at one, but it wouldn’t stay there for long.
Nine minutes later Christian Nava broke the deadlock with a goal in the 62nd minute. This goal opened up the floodgates. Victor Valencia would put the game out of reach when he scored on an impressive free-kick from 30 yards out. Fabian Lopez would put the icing on the cake in this game with his header goal in the 80th minute.
The standout player in this game was Victor Valencia. Valencia assisted on two goals including the game-winning goal by Christian Nava. Valencia also added a goal of his own. This continues a monster season from Valencia who leads the team in both assists, with four and in total points with six.
Another cougar who had a great game was Alan Garcia. Garcia allowed an early goal but after that, he was nothing short of perfect. He made six saves on the day and kept SXU in the game early during the Trojan’s early onslaught.
This win is a significant one for the cougars. It shows that they can come back from an early deficit in a big way, which will have a huge impact on their confidence going forward. More importantly, it keeps Saint Xavier undefeated in conference play.
The Cougar’s next game will likely be their toughest conference game of the season. They travel to Milwaukee on Tuesday to play The Cardinal Stritch University Wolves. The wolves are currently ranked number 25 in the NAIA coaches poll. This is the highest-ranked team that SXU will play all season long.
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