Over fall break, the Holy Cross Saints were in action as both of their soccer teams played three matches.
The men’s soccer team stayed active over the intermission as they competed against Viterbo, Trinity Christian and Olivet Nazarene.
Viterbo
The men’s soccer team faced off against Viterbo right at the beginning of fall break on Oct. 18, falling 1-0 in a back and forth showdown.
In a scoreless first period, the two teams battled back and forth but neither team was able to find their way into the goal. Senior goalkeeper Isaias Rubio kept Viterbo out of the goal as he finished the first period with a total of three saves while goalkeeper Peter Kolenyo saved one for Viterbo. In the second period, the two teams continued to show equal amounts of effort as Rubio excelled in goal with four more saves. The Viterbo goal did not come until the end of the match, as they broke through in the 88th-minute to secure the victory
Viterbo had control of the game, outshooting the Saints 20-5, but the Holy Cross defense stayed vigilant to dispel many of the Viterbo opportunities.
Trinity Christian
The second game that the Saints played was on Oct. 22 against Trinity Christian, resulting in a close 4-3 loss.
Trinity Christian knocked in the first goal of the game early on in the first period in the 7th-minute, but the Saints followed as freshman Xavier Fox scored to tie up the score at the half-hour mark. Trinity Christian returned the favor moments later, putting in their second goal of the game to take a 2-1 lead to the dressing rooms.
In a thrilling second period, the two teams battled back and forth, exchanging goals. Trinity Christian put in the first two goals of the period, both within the first 20 minutes as they pushed the advantage to 4-1. The Saints battled back as late in the period freshman midfielder Andrew Koshakji scored before junior midfielder Anthony Panayiotou snuck in goal to make the score 4-3. The Saints were unable to complete the comeback, and Trinity Christian escaped with the 4-3 triumph.
Olivet Nazarene
The final game over the break was played against Olivet Nazarene on Oct. 25, in which the Saints were exposed in a 7-1 drubbing.
Olivet Nazarene scored three times in the first 10 minutes, before neither team scored for the remainder of the first period. The Saints scored early in the second period thanks to a penalty kick goal from freshman Daniel Alfaro. Olivet Nazarene would score four more times over the final 40 minutes to complete the domination.
With that loss, the men’s soccer team falls to 8-7 overall and 5-3 in conference play as they prepare to host Judson on Tuesday Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.
The Saints women’s soccer team also competed in three games, as they faced Indiana Northwest, Governors State and Indiana University South Bend.
Indiana Northwest
The women’s soccer team kicked off fall break as they traveled to face off against Indiana Northwest, finishing with an even 3-3 draw.
Both teams showed strong defense in the first period as only one goal was scored, with Indiana Northwest opening matters in the 42nd-minute. Junior defender Abigail Fouts sent in the first goal for the Saints, but Indiana Northwest responded by adding another goal in the 56th-minute to regain the 2-1 lead. Three minutes later, Fouts completed her brace to level the tally once more. After the two teams’ defenses battled for the next 20 minutes, Indiana Northwest was able to find the back of the net to take the 3-2 lead. Ending the second period, Holy Cross secured a point from a penalty kick goal by junior forward Miriam Iturriaga-Sanchez.
Governors State
The Saints kept their momentum going as they faced Governors State and took the 2-0 win. Holy Cross found the back of the net thanks to a penalty kick from junior Frances Park in the early stages of the contest. In the second period, Holy Cross snuck by the Governors States goalkeeper as senior forward Mia Garatoni doubled the advantage to nail down the 2-0 victory.
IUSB
The final game that the Saints played was against local rival IUSB, in which they collected another 2-0 win.
The first period was quiet scoring wise, as the two defenses battled for possession. In the final moments of the period, Iturriaga-Sanchez broke through to put the Saints up 1-0. Going into the second period, Fouts scored again to provide cushion for Holy Cross. With IUSB unable to comeback, the Saints took the final 2-0 win.
With this win, the women’s soccer team moves to 9-5-2 overall and 8-1-2 in conference. They will now travel to Trinity Christian to finish their regular season on Oct. 29 at 3 p.m.