Sept. 18, 2014 - In their last of five matches preceding the start of the conference schedule, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars withstood some fierce second-half pressure from host Maranatha Baptist University and earned a point with a 1-1 draw. The tie put the Cougars' record at 2-1-2.

The first scoring opportunity of the match resulted in a goal for the Cougars. Joey Malme (Green Bay, WI/NEW Lutheran) crossed the ball from the right wing to DeAndre McLaurin (Joliet, IL/Joliet West). McLaurin chested the ball down and then drilled the shot to the upper right corner of the net for the eighth-minute goal and a 1-0 lead.

Midway through the half, the SaberCats began to gain a territorial advantage. Jorge Guzman (Cicero, IL/Morton East) stood tall in goal for CUC however, making six of his 10 saves in the first half. However, the home team equalized in the final minutes as Drew DeLozier one-touched a long pass from Jeff Pill and beat Guzman at point-blank range.

Maranatha kept the pressure up in the second half, firing 13 shots to Concordia's three. However, Guzman and the defense stayed strong and were able to clear the most dangerous of chances. In the overtime, the Cougars had two cracks at victory, but Fabian Robles' (Cicero, IL/St. Joseph) shot was saved by the keeper while McLaurin's opportunity went wide of the goal.

"I thought we did a better job today in learning how to play in a tight match and how to finish a game," said CUC head coach Micah Middendorf. "Jorge was outstanding in net for us, this was a fun game, and I'm happy to take a point away from this game."

The Cougars will play the NACC opener versus Edgewood College on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. The game will be played across the street from campus at the Priory Park (corner of Division and Harlem).