Box Score Oct. 17, 2013 – The Concordia University Chicago men's soccer team hosted Maranatha Baptist Bible College in a non-conference match up on Thursday. The game started as a chilly overcast fall day and morphed into a sunny finish which paralleled the Cougars' finish in a 3-1 victory over the Crusaders
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"Our game plan today was to put pressure on Maranatha," said head coach Micah Middendorf. "Our goals were the result of that pressure. We look forward to continuing to improve as the season continues."

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as both teams looked to get their feet under them on the dreary fall day. The focus of the Crusaders' attack was Wira Wama who presented challenges to the Cougars' defense all day. However, the stellar work of Dylan Pavlisin (Villa Park, CA/Orange Lutheran), Manny Valdez (Westchester, IL/St. Joseph), Victor Crouch (Gibson City, IL/H.S.), Braulio Balcorta (El Paso, TX/Socorro) and Anothony Giammonco(Bartlett, IL/South Elgin) kept the Crusaders at bay.

Concordia created a number of scoring chances but was unable to convert until 20 seconds remained in the half. Mike Amezcua (Cicero, IL/ Morton East) blasted a 25- yard shot just under the bar that the goal keeper could not control.

The second half was a continuation of the final minutes of the first half, and the Cougars turned up the heat as the sun made its first appearance of the game. In the 60^th minute, Amezcua finished off a run of play with a shot off the crossbar. In the ensuing scramble, a penalty kick was called. Giammanco calmly stepped up and slotted home his third goal of the season to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, the Cougar pressure led to a defensive miscue that was pounced on by DeAndre McLauren (Joliet, IL/ Joliet West) who scored his third goal of the season as he finished off the fast break. The Cougars appeared to be in control of the game at that point, but Maranatha bounced back by scoring off a corner kick to make it 3-1. The goal inspired the Crusaders as they put pressure on Concordia, but the Cougars were able to run out the clock.

Goalkeeper Roberto Aragon (Cicero, IL/Morton East) had four saves in the match. The Marian keeper had one save.

The Cougars (5-10-0) will be home on Sunday hosting Wisconsin Lutheran College in a return to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference schedule. The game is schedule to kick off at 12:30 p.m.