Schuster Stuns Saints With Late Winner In CCAC Quarterfinals

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Oskar Schuster finally broke a goalless deadlock with 2:12 remaining in the match to propel Roosevelt past St. Francis on Saturday night in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinals at Morris Field.

The third-seeded Lakers (10-6-1) had several chances to score in the second half, but found numerous ways to continue their unlucky streak. It finally ended as the clock was ticking dangerously close to extra time when the ball found the foot of Sebastian Rodriguez 30 yards away from the goal. The junior forward threaded a delicate pass into the box for Schuster, who dribbled around the goalkeeper and buried the game-winner.

Schuster actually had Roosevelt's best scoring chance of the first half when he sent a well-struck ball ringing off the post before the Fighting Saints cleared it off the goal line. In the second half, Alan Rubio came out of a scrum with the loose ball, but his shot on an open goal was blocked at the last second by a St. Francis defender. In the 70^th minute, Oswaldo Perez had a shot parried to the side for a corner kick then 10 minutes later, Rodriguez's drive ricocheted off Schuster's head over the crossbar.  

With just four minutes left, the Lakers seemed to break through when Schuster's shot was saved into the path of Jose Rivera. However, once again, a Fighting Saints defender rescued his goalie with a goal-line clearance to keep the game tied. The Lakers held an 8-5 edge in shot attempts and an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks in the second half.

Eric Carvajal was calm and composed in making three saves for his seventh win of the season. The sophomore goalkeeper made a spectacular diving stop in the first half, but was otherwise able to easily handle the shots the sixth-seeded Fighting Saints sent his way. Roosevelt's defense limited St. Francis to just seven shot attempts in the match and conceded just four corner kicks in the match.

The Lakers advance to the CCAC Tournament semifinals for a second consecutive year and will now host Judson on Wednesday at Morris Field. It is the first time Roosevelt has hosted a semifinals match since 2015 when the Lakers won their only conference tournament title.