Sept. 28, 2013 – Concordia University Chicago women's soccer team hosted their second home game of the year on a perfect fall day in River Forest. The Cougars were inspired by the weather and played some brilliant soccer in a 1-0 victory over conference rival Milwaukee School of Engineering.

"During the first 20 minutes we played some of the best possession soccer that we have played all year," said head coach Thomas Goines. "The combination of possession, timely defending by Christine Saucedo (Brookfield, IL/Lyons Township) and hard work by the midfield gave us the positive result."

The early stretch of possession in the game was highlighted by the defensive work put in by Liz Sanders (St Louis, MO/Parkway South), Natalie Weinhold (St Peters, MO/Lutheran St Charles), and Chrisitina Kiotis (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South). Each time the ball was lost, they immediately organized and led the hunt to regain possession. Often they caught the MSOE players with the ferocity of effort the midfield put in on defense. The possession worked to spread the Raider defense and, in the 31st minute senior Alyssa Soulis (Grayslake, IL/Grayslake North) was sprung free down the middle of the field for her 50^th career goal and the game winner.

As the half wore on, the Raiders of MSOE adjusted and began to pressure the Cougar goal. However, Saucedo was always there to stop them with an intercepted pass or timely tackle. Concordia ended the half under pressure, but escaped unscathed.

At half Coach Goines emphasized that the Cougars needed to play with consistency throughout the game. They played very well at times in the first half, but also allowed some shots. In the first 20 minutes the Cougars possessed the ball, and sophomore Ahissa Bustos (Island Lake, IL/Wauconda) led the attack with a number of dangerous moments. Late in the second half, freshman Alisha Johnson (Coal City, IL/Coal City) unlocked the MSOE defense three times in five minutes with connections in the middle just being missed. Unfortunately, CUC was not able to get that second goal for peace of mind.

As the Cougars defended the frantic MSOE pressure in the final ten minutes, Saucedo again was key. The hard work of midfield was also an integral part of the solid team defense that stymied the Raider attacks. Concordia finished the game off and earned the 1-0 scoreline.

"This was a big win for us in our quest to finish in the top half of the conference," said Goines. "The girls realized that they needed to raise their level of play during NACC games. After tough losses to Aurora and Edgewood, the girls were inspired to prove that they belong in the conversation as a dangerous team in the conference."

CUC keeper Callie Hasselbring (Houston, TX/Cypress Ridge) made seven saves in earning her third clean sheet of the season. MSOE keeper Sydney Stephens made three saves.

The Cougars (5-2-1, 1-2-0 NACC) will be home again on Wednesday against Alverno College at 3 p.m.