The Holy Cross men’s and women’s soccer teams had a rough go of their Tuesday visits to Saint Francis (Ind.). The men took a 7-1 loss, falling to 3-4-1 on the season, while the women came short in a 2-1 game and dropped to 2-5 this year. Both teams will have to bounce back in their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference openers on Saturday.
Coming off back-to-back shutout victories, the Holy Cross men utilized two different keepers during their game, but neither found much success. Junior Isaias Rubio made the start in goal, making two saves while allowing a trio of goals. Saint Francis struck twice in the game’s first 16 minutes, as tallies from Jai Van Lim and Paul Scheifele created a 2-0 lead for the Cougars. Dominik Borucki, who had assisted on the opening goal, made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute.
Facing freshman goalkeeper Logan Kelly, Saint Francis opened the second half much like it did the first. The Cougars deposited three goals in the half’s first 15 minutes, as Scheifele, Mika Leib and Bryan Ramirez struck to double their lead. Holy Cross would finally pull one back in the sixty-seventh minute when senior forward Ramon Gomez scored the first goal of his Saints career. Sophomore forward Isaac Contreras and sophomore center midfielder Nolen Sperring added assists on the only Holy Cross goal of the day. In the eighty-fourth minute, Christian Walter would finish the deal with the Cougars’ seventh goal of the game. Saint Francis finished the match with a 15-7 edge in the shot category, scoring at nearly a 50 percent clip on shooting attempts.
The Holy Cross women’s team kept its match much closer but also never led the Cougars. Carlee Biddle started the scoring for Saint Francis in the twenty-sixth minute, carving out a 1-0 Cougar lead that would carry into halftime. During the first half, sophomore goalkeeper Payton Ladson performed well in the face of significant Saint Francis pressure, making three saves against eight shot attempts.
Her second-half replacement, freshman Madeleine Agee made two more saves but conceded a second Saint Francis goal in the fifty-first minute. Haley Roberson found the back of the net, extending the Cougar lead to 2-0. As the second half dwindled away, Holy Cross mounted a response that turned into a ninetieth-minute penalty kick. Sophomore forward Miriam Iturriaga-Sanchez stepped up to the spot, drilling her first goal of the season and first career penalty-kick goal. With only 38 more seconds to work with after the tally, however, Holy Cross could not spin up an equalizer and lost by a goal.
On Saturday, both the Holy Cross men’s and women’s teams will open up their conference schedules at home against Governors State. The women’s match will begin at noon ahead of a 3:30 p.m first touch for the men’s side.
