Lakers Take Down St. Francis for CCAC Conference Women's Soccer Victory

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Roosevelt University women's soccer team earned its second CCAC Conference victory of the season with a 2-1 defeat of the University of St. Francis on Saturday, September 24 at Morris Field.  The win evened the Lakers' conference record at 2-2 and raised their overall record to 2-4-1 on the year.

The Lakers pressed offensively throughout the first half, holding a 6-1 shot advantage with several shots just missing wide, including two from Nyah Bejarano.  Late in the half in the 41^st minute, Meaghan Smith made a great individual run through the Fighting Saints' backline and her shot found Ashley Luvianos at the back post, who slotted the ball into the far corner for her first collegiate goal and a 1-0 RU half-time lead.

Roosevelt nearly doubled its lead in the 52^nd minute when Darian Lucas intercepted a St. Francis pass and had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but her shot hit the top of the cross bar.  The Lakers did up their lead to 2-0 in the 67^th minute as Meaghan Smith received a through ball from Nerlyn Munoz and placed her shot into the far corner.

Four minutes later, the Fighting Saints cut the lead to 2-1 when Abbey Janeczek headed in an Andrea Aguirre corner kick.  St. Francis continued to press for the equalizing goal in the final 20 minutes, but the RU defense and goalkeeper Roxana Herrera were up to the task to earn the 2-1 conference victory.

KEY STATS

• Meaghan Smith recorded the game winning goal & an assist
• Ashley Luvianos scored her first collegiate goal
• Nerlyn Munoz tallied an assist
• Roxana Herrera made two saves & allowed one goal in 90 minutes played in net
• RU outshot USF 11-6, while USF had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks

NEWS & NOTES

• Meaghan Smith leads RU in scoring with 12 points on five goals & two assists this season
• The Lakers are now 3-7-1 in the all-time series versus the Fighting Saints
• Click here to view the current CCAC Conference standings

NEXT UP

The Lakers travel to Deerfield, Ill. on Saturday, October 1 to take on Trinity International University in a CCAC Conference match up.  Kick-off is scheduled for 12pm at Schartner Field on the campus of TIU.