Box Score Aug. 31, 2014 - Only one game into the 2014 season, it is unlikely that any victories for the Concordia-Chicago men's soccer team will come as hard-earned as today's home match against Blackburn College. A red card forced the Cougars to play 47 minutes a man down, and the visiting Beavers looked to have the momentum after tying the match in the 84th minute. However, the Cougars persevered and pulled out a 2-1 win in the seventh minute of the first overtime to open the season on a high note.
Both teams opened the match with some offensive thrust. Concordia had the first great chance of the game as DeAndre McLaurin (Joliet, IL/Joliet West) was denied at point-blank range by Blackburn keeper Shane Rogers. The Beavers countered with some possession time in the Cougars' zone and a series of corner kicks, but the Cougars were quick to clear any threatening crosses. The game remained scoreless despite the Cougars having two great opportunities in the final minute of the half. Aaron Garza's (East Chicago, IL/Bishop Noll) shot was parried by Rogers, resulting in a corner. Brendan Mullane (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) then had a shot from the left side which sailed over the crossbar. Just over three minutes in the second half, the Cougars dented the net for the opening score. Joey Malme (Green Bay, WI/NEW Lutheran) passed to Manny Valdez (Cicero, IL/St. Joseph) on the right side. Valdez angled into the box and beat Rogers to the far post for the 1-0 lead. Moments later, a scuffle behind the play resulted in a yellow card to Blackburn and a red to the Cougars. Despite going down to 10 men, the Cougars were able to maintain some momentum and missed making it a 2-0 lead as McLaurin was denied by Rogers on a breakaway.
As the second half continued, Blackburn pushed the attack. Finally, in the 84th minute, the visitors got the opening they needed. Off a restart from the right side, Nate Kinnison sent a perfect cross into the goalmouth from where Mikey Stephenson headed the ball at point-blank range past CUC keeper Jorge Guzman (Cicero, IL/Morton East) to even the score. In the final minutes, each team had an opportunity as Stephenson's shot was saved by Guzman and McLaurin's flick-on in front was stopped by Rogers.
Concordia's winning goal came in the 97th minute. Freshman Daniel Krajewski (Addison, IL/Addison Trail) controlled the ball on the right side, angled into the box and shot low to the far post. Rogers made the save, but the rebound came out to Garza who beat his defender and buried the shot into the netting for the dramatic finish. The Cougars outshot the Beavers by a 17-12 margin. Guzman made four saves to earn the win while Rogers made seven stops.
While happy with the win, CUC head coach Micah Middendorf acknowledged that "we are a young team and cannot make mistakes like (the red card), especially when we're holding a lead. But we managed the game, and that's part of learning how to win."
The Cougars will return to the pitch next Sunday, Sept. 7 when they host MacMurray College. The game will follow 30 minutes after the CUC women's 1:00 match.
