JOLIET, Ill. - From the opening kickoff, we dictated the tempo, dominating possession and building an overwhelming 16-to-6 advantage in total shots over the course of the match. Early on, our offensive pressure forced Saint Francis onto their heels.
Nick Keuler tested their keeper, just four minutes into the game, followed shortly by a strike from
George Rumija. By the time
Alexander Prenkocevic and
John Assenmacher forced back-to-back saves right before halftime.
The physical toll of our high press began to manifest in whistles. The Saints were content to disrupt our rhythm by any means necessary, pushing the total foul count to a grueling 38 infractions. Tempers flared. Our own
Andrew Cook and
George Rumija picked up yellow cards, matching the caution issued to their defender, Enzo Mirabello Muraro.
In the second half, the game broke wide open. In the 63rd minute, we forced a corner kick.
Pedro Roses curled a beautiful ball into the box, sparking chaos in front of the net. Seizing the moment,
Artur Kataoka lunged forward and fired it home, breaking the deadlock and giving us a hard-earned 1-0 lead. It was his first goal of the season, and our bench erupted. Our celebration was short-lived. Saint Francis threw numbers forward, searching for an equalizer on their home turf. Just like that, the score was leveled at 1-1.
We refused to settle for a draw. Roses swung in corner after corner.
Alejandro Iglesias sent a powerful header just over the crossbar, and
Finlay MacKintosh unleashed two brilliant consecutive shots on target, only to watch LaFrance make spectacular saves.
As the final seconds ticked away, the frustration of The Saints boiled over completely. The final whistle blew to cement a 1-1 draw, but the drama didn't stop there. Visibly unhinged by our relentless pressure, the Saint Francis bench let their emotions go too far, resulting in a straight red card being issued to their team personnel right at the 90-minute mark.
Their next match will be Wednesday, Septemeber 2, at home at Blue Devil Stadium.
