Oct. 4, 2017 -  A pleasant and cool October evening under a bright full moon awaited the Concordia-Chicago Cougars and the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks as they took to the field on the South Side of Chicago this evening. While the setting was wonderful, the set pieces were not - at least for the Cougars. Two corner kicks and a direct kick accounted for all of the home team's goals as they defeated CUC by a final score of 3-1.

The first 20 minutes were mostly played in the midfield as both teams played at a brisk pace, although scoring chances were at a minimum. The Scarlet Hawks broke through in the 24th minute on a fluke play. An IIT corner kick was sent in front to the near post where it deflected off of two CUC players and squeezed into the net between the post and goalkeeper Jose Retana. 

Goal number two was a backbreaker as it came just over a minute before halftime. The Scarlet Hawks were awarded a direct kick in the middle of the field about 25 yards out. Quentin Dreilich sent a low shot through the wall that settled inside the post for a 2-0 lead.

Illinois Tech survived a brief flurry of shots from the Cougars in the second half and came down the other way moments later to score their third goal. Another corner kick created the situation, with Noah Kwortnik scoring on a rebound.

The situation went from bad to worse as CUC was forced to play with just 10 men for the final 30 minutes after a red card was issued. To their credit, the Cougars kept battling, and they managed a goal short-handed in the 72nd minute. Fabian Robles scored when he followed up a shot in the box and beat the IIT keeper low inside the left post.

The Scarlet Hawks outshot the Cougars 24-6, including a margin of 21-4 in the second half. Retana redcorded a career-high 11 saves.

Cocnordia-Chicago (2-8-0) will now play its final six matches of the year against conference opponents, including this Saturday's match at Edgewood College in Madison, WI.