Holy Cross defeated Oakland City on Saturday afternoon, bolstering their record to 2-1.
Eight minutes into the match, Oakland City junior midfielder Ross O’Brien delivered a well-hit corner kick before pinball inside the box ensued. Eventually, senior midfielder Marc Robertson hammered the ball into the back of the net to take the lead for the Mighty Oaks.
The rest of the first half was a dogfight. Holy Cross was able to produce five shots, but none had enough on them to give Oakland City’s freshman goalkeeper Nicholas Boes a true challenge.
That changed in the second half. After an Oakland City player tried to chip the ball over Holy Cross’ senior goalkeeper Isaias Rubio from midfield in the 58th minute, the Saints stormed down the pitch. After some lovely interplay between several Holy Cross players, freshman left wing Daniel Alfaro took a clever touch at the top of the 18 before striking a left-footed beauty into the back of the net.
Alfaro has been a revelation for Holy Cross in his debut campaign. He has notched three goals in as many games and has been the player that head coach Omar Gallo was searching for after losing star forwards Juan Perez and Isaac Filippo to graduation.
Ten minutes later, sophomore wing Kai Lulic scored his first goal of the season after the Saints dispossessed the Mighty Oaks in front of the 18. Lulic’s quick inside-outside move was followed by a calm finish into the bottom corner.
Lulic celebrated by running to the corner flag, and the entire Holy Cross team met him there. However, this moment of breakthrough was quickly followed by chaos. Junior defender Anthony Cruz tripped an Oakland City player making a forward run, and he was subsequently awarded his second yellow of the day.
The Saints were then left to battle a man down with 20 minutes on the clock, or so they thought.
Only four minutes after Cruz’s red card, Robertson was also shown his second yellow card of the afternoon, sending Oakland City down to 10 men.
Both teams played a scrappy game of soccer for the remaining time left, working in favor of the Saints. Thanks to their stellar defense, particularly inside and around the 18, Holy Cross was able to hold on to its 2-1 lead.
The Saints’ win against Oakland City was everything Gallo was hoping to see out of his team from a mental perspective. Despite going down early and eventually going down a man, Holy Cross remained sharp throughout. The Saints will look to carry this intensity with them as they soon approach Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play.
Before they do that, they’ll have to play yet another local foe. The Saints play Bethel University at home this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Since 2020, Holy Cross has gone 0-3 against the Pilots. They last met on Aug. 17, 2024, which resulted in a 3-1 win for Bethel.
If Holy Cross is to turn the tide against Bethel, they’ll once again look for Alfaro up top. His physicality, blended with a clinical nature, proves to be a proper challenge for any defense. Now with another game of collegiate experience under his belt, the freshmen sensation will only take his game to new heights.
Admission to the Holy Cross vs. Bethel game is free. Streaming can be found on the Holy Cross athletics website.
