Sept. 3, 2016 - The Concordia University Chicago men's soccer team began their season on the road today against Bluffton University at a neutral site in North Manchester, Indiana. The match was very even throughout the day, however, the Beavers came away victorious on a last second header to give them the 1-0 victory.
Over the first 45 minutes, the Beavers had the edge in opportunities by outshooting the Cougars 7 to 4 in the first half. Within the first five minutes of the game, Roberto Avila (Cicero, IL/Morton East) tested the Beavers' goalkeeper, but he made the save and kept the score at 0-0. The best opportunity for the Cougars came in the 31st minute when Fabian Robles (Cicero, IL/St. Joseph) ripped a shot from the midfield just outside the box, but the Beavers' goalkeeper just got his hands on it and kept it in front of him for the save. Even though the Beavers outshot the Cougars, the match remained scoreless at halftime.
In the second half, both teams generated some quality chances, but the best opportunity for CUC came in the 89th minute off a corner kick from Arkadiusz Szlachta (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook). The kcik was a perfectly placed one where Diego Ramirez (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) was able to get a head on it, but it was just blocked before reaching the back of the net.
In the first overtime, the Cougars controlled the pace of play with three corner kicks resulting in two saves by the Beavers' goalkeeper. Bluffton's only chance came in the 98th minute where they came close to closing out the match with a header of a corner that hit the crossbar.
In the second overtime, Bluffton controlled the final 10 minutes by putting up four shots, but it was the final shot that sunk the Cougars. With seven seconds left, the Beavers fired off their last of eight corner kicks on the day, and with one second left, Blake Drewes headed it in to give the Beavers the 1-0 victory.
The Cougars will return to action again on the road on Sunday, Sept. 4 with a match against Manchester University at 2 p.m.
