The Holy Cross men’s and women’s soccer teams entered their respective Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) schedules with matches against Governors State on Saturday. The women’s side improved to 3-5-0 with a 6-1 victory, while the men’s squad dropped to 3-5-1 with a 3-1 loss.
Having scored only five goals in their first seven matches, the Holy Cross women broke out offensively on Saturday. The Saints peppered the Governors State goal with 22 shots, getting the scoring started in the 35th minute. Freshman defender Roselyn Gonzalez finished off an assist from sophomore forward Miriam Iturriaga-Sanchez for her first career goal. Four minutes later, Iturriaga-Sanchez cashed in a setup from freshman defender Avery Peters for her second goal in as many games. Though Governors State responded quickly to get on the board, the Saints still carried a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Holy Cross extended its lead and put the match game away. Junior midfielder Annabella Alfreda made it 3-1 with her first career goal in her 32nd career match. Another junior midfielder, Neyda Macias, followed with the first goal of her career for the fourth Holy Cross tally of the day. Iturriaga-Sanchez, who finished the match with a game-high six shots, completed her brace with her second goal of the game to make it 5-1. During the play, Gonzalez collected her third point of the match with an assist. In the 82nd minute, sophomore defender Abigail Fouts finished off the Saints’ offensive clinic with her second goal of the season.
In goal for Holy Cross, freshman goalkeeper Madeleine Agee finished with four saves to collect the win.
On the men’s side, a slow start and late red card doomed the Saints. Governors State roared out of the gate with a second-minute goal from Rafael Silverio and added on with a strike from John Gonzalez in the 24th minute. Holy Cross would answer at the end of the 26th minute, as senior forward Isaac Filippo snapped a scoring drought for his first goal of the season and the 10th of his career. A 21-point-scorer in 2023, Filippo had not populated his name on the score sheet in the 2024 season.
With the match practically even and separated by one goal at halftime, the Saints held an opportunity to battle back and tie or win the match. However, the Jaguars took control with a goal from Luis Escalante in the 75th minute. That control deepened when senior defender Martin Von Thun took his second yellow card and left the Saints to play with 10 men in the final seven minutes. Using the personnel advantage, Governors State comfortably emerged with a 3-1 victory.
Up next, both Saints teams will travel to St. Francis (Illinois) for their first CCAC road games. The men will play at 8 p.m. on Tuesday before the women take the field at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
