Lakeview, Ind. – Junior forward Esmeralda Diaz (Chicago, Ill./Solorio Academy) recorded her first collegiate 'Hat Trick' as she scored three goals, including the game-winner, all in the first half to lead Saint Xavier University women's soccer (7-3-3, 5-3-1 CCAC) to a 4-2 victory over Indiana University South Bend in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) contest Saturday afternoon in Lakeview, Ind. Diaz is the first Cougar to tally three goals in a match since her teammate, sophomore midfielder Hope Lewis (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) did so last season in a 6-0 win over IUSB on October 7, 2022. With the win, Saint Xavier secures a spot in the CCAC Tournament that begins on Friday, November 2.

• SXU registered a season-high 26 shot attempts on the afternoon, as well as a season-best 17 shots on goal.
• Junior midfielder/forward Louisa Schreiber (Bonndorf, Germany/Morton/Hans-Thoma-Schule) also scored the Saint Xavier and had two shots on goal in 30 minutes of action.
• Freshman forward Alex Jonaitis (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) tallied a career-best two assists and finished with four shot attempts with three shots on goal.
• Freshman forward/midfielder Citlali Chavez (Cicero, Ill./Morton East) led the offensive attack with five shot attempts, and she had four shots on goal in 72 minutes on the pitch.
• Senior midfielder/defender Neida Ocampo (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Harper/Conant) also had five shot attempts and recorded three shots on goal in 75 minutes.
• Senior goalkeeper Dayanna Gonzalez (Cicero, Ill./Morton East) made her first start of the season and picked up the victory to move to 1-0-0.
• Freshman goalkeeper Yajaira Daza-Mendoza (Chicago, Ill./Curie) started the second half while making her collegiate debut. She allowed a goal and had a save in 45 minutes in net.
• Diaz opened the scoring with a goal in the 14^th minute off of a pass from Jonaitis.
• Schreiber scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 24^th minute to push the lead to 2-0.
• The Titans responded with a goal in the 27^th minute to cut the lead to 2-1.
• Diaz scored the game-winner two minutes later in the 29^th minute and would add her fifth goal of the year just over a minute later, assisted again by Jonaitis.
• Indiana South Bend scored the lone goal of the second half in the 79^th minute.

Saint Xavier (7-3-3/5-3-1 CCAC) plays Judson University (Ill.) in CCAC action at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. on Wednesday, October 25. The match is slated for a 5:00 pm start.