Sept. 20, 2016 - Following Sunday's NACC opener, the Concordia-Chicago men's soccer team returned to non-conference play one more time as they hosted the Illinois Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, the Cougars were unable to manage a consistent attack against the Scarlet Hawks, and the visitors scored a goal in each half to take a 2-0 victory.

The two teams started slowly, scouting ech other out as this was the first-ever meeting between the two on the pitch. The first shot of the game came in the 14th minute as Gibril Jobe (Berwyn, IL/Morton West) sent one over the crossbar. The Scarlet Hawks gradually gathered momentum and unleashed a three-shot barrage at the Cougars in the 21st minute; two shots were blocked and the third saved by CUC keeper Zachary Adamec (Louisville, KY/Butler Traditional). 

The Cougar defense blocked a few more shots before the Scarlet Hawks finally broke through in the 29th minute. Following a foul and a yellow card to the Cougars, Nori Honda lined up for a free kick from about 28 yards out on an angle slightly to the right. He hit a rocket that eluded Adamec into the upper part of the net, and the visitors claimed the one-goal lead.

IIT kept up the pressure, outshooting CUC 10-2 for the half although mustering just the one tally. Concordia's only other chance came as Chris Arevalo (Chicago, IL/St. Patrick) had an opportunity in the final minute that sailed high.

The second half saw the Cougars make a few more inroads into the Scarlet Hawks' zone, although the visitors' defense held firm. Jobe once again had the best chance as he cut to the middle and unleashed a rocket that unfortunately carried over the goal.

With the Cougars pushing for the tying goal, the visitors began to make a few counter attacks. In the 82nd minute, one of those paid off as Honda passed the ball into the box where Emmanual Zambrano had a one-on-one with Adamec and hit the shot into the lower left side of the net.

Final shots saw IIT with 21 to CUC's five. Adamec made five saves while IIT keeper Anastasios Manolis made just one.

Concordia-Chicago (2-5-0) will have a week off to reset before resuming conference play next Wednesday, Sept. 28 with a home match against Dominican University.