Box Score Sept. 17, 2011 - The Northern Athletics Conference opener for the Concordia-Chicago men's soccer team went down as another tough defeat. The Cougars rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit but lost in the end to visiting Concordia University Wisconsin by a 3-1 score.
Alberto Valle did much of the damage for the Falcons with a part in all three CUW goals. He opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a shot that rolled past Jorge Guzman (Cicero, IL/Morton East); two Cougar defenders had a shot at clearing the ball off the goal line but were unable to get there in time.
Calle found himself with another glorious opportunity in the 27th minute as he broke in on Guzman from the right side. His shot caromed off the lefet post, but Zach Lemler was perched at the doorstep to knock home the rebound and give the Falcons a 2-0 lead.
As in Thursday's double-overtime loss to Lake Forest, the Cougars came out at the start of the second half and found a higher gear. They gained more of a territorial edge and created more scoring chances. Finally, in the 57th minute, their work paid off as DeAndre McLaurin (Joliet, IL/Joliet West) controlled the ball in the box, worked around a defender and hit a roller under the CUW keeper inside the far post. The goal was McLaurin's first of the season and cut the Falcons' lead in half at 2-1.
The Cougars continued to press with their best chances coming from Kyle Joss (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles North) and Brendan Mullane (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South). However, the visitors tightened up the defense down the stretch. A counterattack resulted in CUW's final goal with a minute remaining as Valle's pass found Kyle Sytsma in the box. Sytsma's shot at close range beat Guzman to account for the final two-goal margin.
The Falcons outshot the Cougars by a total of 19-12. Enrique Alvarado made four saves for CUW while Guzman recorded eight.
Concordia-Chicago (1-6, 0-1 NAC) will play at the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Wednesday night at Time-Warner Cable Stadium in Milwaukee.
