ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Roosevelt's composure and patience were too much for Saint Xavier in a dominant 3-0 win for the Lakers on Saturday night at Morris Field.

The former conference rivals were counterattacking each other in the early going before the Lakers settled in and began to control the game. Roosevelt (2-0-1) was able to move the ball with ease as Saint Xavier elected to clog the middle to make life difficult for the Lakers. Yet the Lakers were able to take full advantage of the space on the wings to get into attacking areas.

Rafael Rios connected on the game-breaker in the 31^st minute by getting on the end of a pass from Nick Killian and slamming it past the Cougars keeper. It was a similar story for Roosevelt's second goal except Rios was the one supplying the long pass into the middle for Noah Vasilev to run onto and hammer home in the 62^nd minute. Ryusei Ogawa completed the scoring in the 75^th minute by deflecting a pass from Killian into the net.

Eric Carvajal made a single save in the match and spent much of the game as a passing outlet for the Lakers to build out of the back. Roosevelt finished with a 15-1 advantage in shot attempts, landing seven of those shots on target. Roosevelt also won three corners and were able to put some pressure on the Cougars with dangerous crosses into the goal mouth from Killian on the set pieces.

RIOS GRANDE: Rios earned his first career start for the Lakers on Saturday night and made the most of his season-best 69 minutes on the field. The midfielder was a menace along the wings and was a key link between the back line and the forward group when Saint Xavier sat back. He showcased his vision with his assist, picking out the space to play the ball into that Vasilev ran into for the goal. He also showed great awareness when he cut inside to put the Lakers ahead 1-0 by making a run into the box from the far side of the field.

BALL CONTROL: Roosevelt finished with 65 percent possession in the match, but more than half of it came in its own end. The Lakers were more than patient in letting the Cougars take away the middle and instead work the ball around through the defense to switch the ball to the opposite wings. Saint Xavier had just 15 percent of its possession time in the attacking quarter of the field while the Lakers finished with roughly 23 percent possession time in their attacking quarter.

UP NEXT: A much-needed rest arrives for Roosevelt after two games in three days as it prepares for another road trip. The Lakers head to Romeoville next Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against Lewis in their final non-conference match of the season. It is the first meeting between the Lakers and Flyers in a regular season match, though the teams have scrimmaged in the past.