Box Score Oct. 29, 2014 - When it comes to Senior Day for college athletics teams, it would be difficult to write a script much better than what transpired for the Concordia-Chicago men's soccer team this afternoon. All three of the Cougars' seniors - DeAndre McLaurin (Joliet, IL/Joliet West), Brendan Mullane )Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) and Dylan Pavlisin (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran) - put their marks on the scoresheet and led the team to a 6-2 win over Rockford University in the season finale for both sides. "All of our seniors have been true servant-leaders for our program," said CUC head coach Micah Middendorf. "It was great to honor them before the game and then to see them celebrate with outstanding play in their final matches."
The Cougars dominated posession from the start although it took a while for them to start making consistent connections on their passing in the attack zone. Finally, in the 22nd minute, Pavlisin was able to elude a couple of defenders along the endline to the right of goal. He shook free long enough to cross the ball in front of the net. McLaurin was waiting at the back post and he slammed the ball home from close range for the opening score.
While Wednesday was a day for the seniors to remember, junior forward/midfielder Joey Malme (Green Bay, WI/NEW Lutheran) will remember this game too. He notched his first three goals of the season and first career hat trick. Malme's first came on some nice individual effort as he used a spin move to avoid one defender. He evaded a second defender, working his way inside the box from where he powered a 12-yard shot past the keeper for a 2-0 lead. The game opened up tremendously in the second half, and the Cougars quickly added to their lead. Malme chased down a cross that eluded a couple of attackers in front of the goal. Malme turned and hit a sharp-angle shot that found the short side of the goal for a three-goal lead.
Concordia-Chicago's lead grew to 5-0 by the midway point of the half. McLaurin notched his second of the day and team-leading 11th of the season off of Mullane's pass. Mullane also assisted on Malme's third goal, a shot from close range.
Rockford got on the board in the 72nd minute as CUC was whistled for a foul inside the box. Adam Seiter promptly converted the penalty kick to make it a 5-1 game.
Each team scored in the final minutes to close out the wide-open second half. First, a pair of Cougar freshmen collaborrated as Justin Kulpa's (Wilmington, IL/H.S.) thru ball sprung Chris Arevalo (Chicago, IL/St. Patrick) up the middle. Arevalo beat the keeper one-on-one for his first career goal. Rockford's Erik Manriquez then scored with under two minutes left as he was sent through on a pass from Joseph Romano. Both of CUC's goalkeepers saw action in this contest. Jorge Guzman (Cicero, IL/Morton East) started and played the first half but was not tested as the Cougars' defense held Rockford to just three shots, none on goal. Ariel Manjarrez (Berwyn, IL/Morton West) played the second half and made a season-high five saves. The second half shot total showed how wide open the game was as CUC took 22 shots to Rockford's 11. "This was a good all-around game for our guys and a good way to end the season," said Middendorf. "This is a win that we will look to build upon as we get ready for the 2015 season." The Cougars finished with an overall record of 7-9-2 (4-6-0 NACC) with the seven wins establishing a new single-season record for the program.Â
