ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Roosevelt settled for an 1-1 draw with Saint Xavier on Sunday afternoon at Morris Field on a special early-season Senior Day for the program.

The Lakers (0-0-2) came out buzzing to start the game and took advantage with an early goal from Cami Butler. The freshman was in the perfect position to finish a slick pass from Paola Macias, who spun past two defenders before feeding the ball to Butler near the goal area.



Roosevelt continued to lay the pressure on the Cougars in the first half, forcing a pair of tough saves from the Saint Xavier goalkeeper. The Cougars capitalized midway through the second half to tie the game before the Lakers again took the front foot.

The momentum changed with about 12 minutes to go and the constant pressure eventually led to a Saint Xavier player being sent off with a little less than nine minutes left. With the one-person advantage, Roosevelt began to again put Saint Xavier under pressure and threatened to find the winner. The Lakers finished with 15 total shot attempts with six actually making it on frame.

Roxy Herrera made five comfortable saves in goal for the Lakers as the defense mostly limited the Cougars' 12 shot attempts to outside the 18-yard box.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: Roosevelt thought it had a second goal twice during the game, once in each half. In the first half, Daisy Hernandez-Loya whipped in a gorgeous corner kick that found Aaliyah Leanos near the back post and the freshman's shot was then slammed home by Kyra Cruickshank crashing the goal. However, the goal was disallowed due to offsides.

In the second half, Johnson found herself wide open on the left wing and she elegantly chipped the ball over the on-rushing Saint Xavier goalie. The ball nearly crossed the goal line at the far post before the Cougars keeper scrambled back to knock the ball away at the last moment.

SENIOR RECOGNITION: Prior to the game, the Lakers honored their seven seniors on the roster. Macias played 74 minutes in the match, racking up the assist to go along with her goal in Thursday's season opener. Roosevelt also honored Gaby Aguinaga-Hernandez, Giovana Garduno, Kelsey Johnson, Aliah Mendez, Alondra Russildi and Karen Salgado during the pregame festivities.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt will stay at home as it welcomes St. Cloud State to Morris Field on Friday for the Lakers' final non-conference match of the season. It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.