Sept. 18, 2016 - The Concordia-Chicago men's soccer team returned to the home pitch this afternoon to begin Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play against Marian University. The Cougars were looking for another positive result after winning last Sunday's home opener, but Marian would not allow that to happen. The Sabres took a two-goal lead in the firt half and then used a three-goal blitz in the second half to secure a 5-1 victory over the Cougars.

Marian opened the scoring less than six minutes into the match. A long cross from just inside the right sideline found Gustavo Carmona in front of the goal with just keeper Roberto Aragon (Cicero, IL/Morton East) to beat. Carmona shot inside the left post for the 1-0 lead. In the 35th minute, it was Carmona againm going high to the right side of the net from 20 yards out.

The Cougars' offense was quiet for much of the half, but they managed a couple of excellent chances in the final three minutes. First, it was Dan Krajewski (Addison, IL/Addison Trail) 
who had a header in the box, only to have it saved by MU keeper Ian Chacon. A minute later, Hayden Boyd (Danville, KY/H.S.) cracked a shot from about 40 yards out on the right side that was ticketed for just under the crossbar inside the left post. Only a great lunging save by Chacon kept the score 2-0 at the half. 

Early in the second half, the Cougars stole a goal back. With a Marian defender dribbling the ball back towards his keeper, Gibril Jobe (Berwyn, IL/Morton West) picked his pocket and advanced toward the keeper before sliding a shot low inside the left post. The goal was Jobe's second of the year and pulled the Cougars to within 2-1.

The one-goal margin did not last long, however. Just over a minute later, a 50/50 ball inside the box resulted in Aragon being issued a yellow card for beinging down the attacker. The play also resulted in a penalty kick, and Alonso Fragoso converted from the spot to restore the Sabres' lead to two. Marian later put the game away with two goals in the final six minutes, both coming off of restarts. 

Marian finished with a 15-11 edge in shots for the game. Aragon made seven saves while Chacon was credited with six.

Concordia-Chicago (2-4-0, 0-1-0 NACC) will return to action on tuesday when they host the Illinois Institute of Technology in non-conference play.