The Saint Xavier University women’s soccer team split a pair of games this past week. One of the games was an impressive shutout victory and the other was a nail-biter that could have gone either way.
The game on Wednesday was the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) opener pitting SXU against the University of Saint Francis (Ill.). It was a very close game that needed double overtime to decide the outcome.
The Cougars hung in there but were ultimately defeated in extra time when senior midfielder Kaley Marcinak set up another senior teammate, forward Brooke Polus, for the game winning goal. She sent it in from 25 yards out to give the Fighting Saints the 1-0 lead and ultimately the win.
The Cougars had their opportunities in this contest. They put six shots on goal, but they just could not get any of them past the Fighting Saints goalkeeper Amanda Coleman.
The Cougars were led by junior midfielder Monica Chavolla and freshman midfielder Christina Sperando, who each had two shots on goal.
Freshmen goalkeeper Alex Perry played another nice game, recording eight saves on nine shots directed on goal. The Cougars should be proud that they had a great chance to win the game or tie against a good team that improved to 6-1 on the season.
The next game was on the road against another CCAC foe in Holy Cross College. The Women’s team faired better than the men did against Holy Cross, winning the match by a score 3-0.
The scoring in the first half for the Cougars when in minute No. 34 freshman forward Mariana Hoerr put in her second goal of the season unassisted. The Cougars were not done yet, though, as they wanted to put the game out of reach from Holy Cross.
In the second half, during the 55th minute of action, Sperando sent a great cross to junior Marissa Graves, setting her up for the goal to make the score 2-0. It was Graves’ first goal of the year and put the team up by two in the second half.
The last score of the game came off an own goal by the Saints. The Cougars would not have needed it anyway because Perry played an incredible game, making 10 saves on the day for her second shutout of the season.
The Cougars were very aggressive on the attack in this game. They finished with 11 shots on goal and 17 total shots for the game. The team’s leading scorer, sophomore foward Lexi Cozzi, led the team with three shots on goal and six total shots for the game. The team moved to 3-4-1 overall with the win and 1-1 in conference play.
The team’s next home game is Wednesday October 9 at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field against Trinity International University (Ill.). The Cougar community should come out and cheer the team on to what they hope will be a rapidly improving early season.
Important Season Stats:
Team Record–3-4-1
Goals per game–1.38
Shot %–13.6%
Shots on goal %–58%
Important Individual Stats:
Shots–Lexi Cozzi, 13
SOG–Lexi Cozzi, 8
Danielle Inzinga, 8
Saves–Alex Perry, 82
Save %–Alex Perry, .882
Damone Griffin
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