Box Score Oct. 22, 2013 – Concordia University Chicago Women's Soccer traveled to Rockford University on a cold Tuesday afternoon. The starting temperature for the game was 38 degrees and there were snow flurries during warmups. The weather and an inspired effort by the Regents on their Senior Day made the Cougars work for a tough 3-0 victory. The result set a new record for wins in a season at 11 and also clinched Concordia's first-ever women's soccer NACC tournament berth.

"It was an emotional day for our opponents, as they honored their senior class, and they came out and battled hard," said CUC head coach Thomas Goines. "But we came together in the second half and put the game away. I think one mark of a good team is that they can win when they are not at their best. We got the job done, and I am proud of them for setting a new record for assists in a season with the statistics backing up the team-oriented possession style that we want to play."

In the first half, the Cougars came out flat and were unable to finish on their scoring chances. They outshot the Regents by a significant margin, yet did not score. Finally, Christine Saucedo (Brookfield, IL/Lyons Township) took matters into her own hands. She dribbled the ball from her center back position at midfield through the entire Rockford team and had her shot just pushed wide by their keeper.

The Cougars started to play with more urgency in the second half. Saucedo was the spark up front that created a number of scoring opportunities as she moved to forward to start the second half. In the 58^th minute, Christina Kiotis (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) switched the ball from left to right and hit Saucedo as she checked back from the defensive line to create space. The hole she created allowed Alisha Johnson (Coal City, IL/Coal City) to run on to Saucedo's perfectly weighted pass and score the first goal of the game.

Concordia continued to dominate all facets of the game as Annie Rockert (Kankakee, IL/Herscher) patrolled the back line at sweeper. The Cougars scored again in the 69^th minute as Alyssa Soulis (Grayslake, IL/Grayslake, North) held the ball up for Natalie Weinhold (St Peters, MO/Lutheran St Charles) to score her eighth of the year. Finally, in the 78th minute, Sharice Ellenwood (Streamwood, IL/H.S.) played in Caeleigh Morton (Oswego, IL/H.S.) to make the final margin 3-0. Multiple scoring opportunities were created by Nikki Anderson (Montgomery, IL/Oswego) as she played well in extended rehab minutes.

Coach Goines said, "It is great to make the conference tournament for the first time. It was one of our team objectives this season. We will take a day to celebrate the team achievement and then we get back to business in preparing for a very tough opponent in Concordia Wisconsin that affects our conference tournament seeding."

The record for the team for assists in a season is now 40 with three games remaining in the season. The previous record was 38 set in 2005.

With the win Concordia has set a new record for wins in a season with 11. The previous record was 10, which happened four times – 2003, 2005, 2011, and 2012. They also extend the consecutive games unbeaten record to nine. The previous record was 7 in 2012.

CUC keeper Callie Hasslebring (Houston, TX/Cypress Ridge) had her sixth shutout of the season and set a new record for goal keeper wins in a season with 11 wins. The previous record was set in 2005 with 10 wins by Malika Manouzi. Rockford keeper Alyssa Nicholson made eight saves in Tuesday's match.

The Cougars will host Concordia Wisconsin in River Forest on Saturday at 3 p.m. A win over the Falcons will boost the Cougars' chances to host a first-round game in the tournament.