Saint Xavier University

Elgin, Ill. – Behind a three-goal outburst in a 10-minute span in the first half, the No. 5 seeded Saint Xavier University men's soccer team (7-10-1/2-4-1 CCAC) defeated No. 4 Judson University (Ill.) 3-0 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Tournament First Round on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Dawson Field in Elgin, Ill. The Cougars tallied goals in the 11^th, 14^th and 21^st minutes, respectively, to advance to the CCAC Tournament Semifinals on Friday. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Daniel Martinez (Cicero, Ill./Morton East) posted six saves, all coming in the second half. The Cougars will wait for the outcome of the other CCAC Tournament First Round match between No. 6 University of St. Francis (Ill.) and No. 3 Holy Cross College (Ind.). A win by USF will send SXU to No. 2 Viterbo University (Wis.), while an HCC victory sends Saint Xavier to top-seeded and NAIA No. 1 ranked Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.)

• Junior forward Americo Castaneda (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) scored the game-winning goal. He finished with two shot attempts and two shots on goal in 50 minutes of play.
• Redshirt junior midfielder Saul Lagunas (Midlothian, Ill./Bremen) tallied a goal and a pair of assists in 81 minutes on the pitch.
• Freshman midfielder Galileo Figueroa (Burbank, Ill./Reavis) recorded his first collegiate goal with two shots on goal on two attempts in 70 minutes as a reserve.
• In the 11^th minute, Lagunas intercepted a clearing attempt by the Judson goalkeeper, who was near the top of the 18-yard box, and he deflected the ball to Castaneda where he sent a shot past the keeper into the wide-open net for his second goal of the year.
• Three minutes later, Lagunas took advantage of the goalkeeper playing out of net and he scored his third goal of the season after receiving a pass from freshman midfielder Kajetan Mlynarski (Warsaw, Poland/Lelewel) in the 14^th minute. It was Mlynarski's team-high tying fourth assist in 2026
• In the 21^st minute, Lagunas played a ball from senior forward Mark Vitaliy Hul (Ternopil, Ukraine/Moraine Valley/TSSH No. 29) in the left corner. He returned the pass to Hul, who found a streaking Figuera, after he got behind the defense, from the right side and he buried the ball into the back of the net for a 3-0 advantage. Lagunas earned his fourth assist, while Hul tallied his second of the year.
• Martinez made three saves in 90 seconds, two on consecutive shot attempts, early in the second half. He made three more in the frame, including a stop in the 85^th minute.

No. 5 seed Saint Xavier (7-10-1/2-4-1 CCAC) awaits its opponent for the CCAC Tournament Semifinals. Time and location are unknown, but the match will take place on Friday, November 6.