LISLE, Ill. -- In arguably their most thrilling match up of the year, the No. 6 Concordia-Chicago Cougars took on the No. 3 Benedictine University Eagles in the NACC's 2019 quarterfinal game. With the game consisting of a total of six yellow cards and two red cards, the Eagles took an early lead before the Cougars bounced back to control the game for the next 70 minutes. Unfortunately for CUC, Benedictine took over in the final 10 minutes of play, with two goals of their own, to win it 3-2.
The contest got off to a hot start this afternoon, as the Eagles took just three minutes to find the back of the net. With a defensive miscue that led to a scrum in front of CUC's defensive zone, Benedictine's leading scorer Lukasz Sulka dished a pass off to his teammate and beat CUC's
Jose Retana with a shot into the lower right corner of the net.
While Benedictine held the early lead, the Cougars were unfazed by the deficit, as they would respond just three minutes later. At the 6:30 mark,
German Tinoco drove the ball upfield and found
Gerardo Medina on the near side of the Eagles' box. As Medina took a shot that was saved by Benedictine, freshman
Dominick Christiansen hid on the far side of the net to convert the goal off the rebound and tie up the match.
Less than five minutes later, CUC once again found themselves a clutch offensive opportunity. As
Joel Diaz dribbled past midfield, he found Medina streaking past Benedictine defenders. With a clean pass, Medina drew the Eagles' netminder out of the box and managed to take a hard shot that deflected off the goalie but continued to find its way to the back of the net.
Just 15 minutes into the game, the Cougars had solidified a 2-1 lead which held up for the next 30 minutes despite five more Benedictine shots on goal. By the end of the first half, Retana had three saves.
The second half proved to be much more physical, as all eight cards came during the final 45-minute frame. The Eagles turned up the pressure too, as they out shot the Cougars 11-5 down the stretch.
Despite Benedictine's second-half press, CUC held onto its 2-1 lead up until the final 10 minutes of play. Finally, in the 80th minute the Eagles took a hard shot that Retana deflected to the far side of the field. However, Benu's Andrew Leon was able to convert on the rebound and equalize the game. With the score tied 2-2 and the clock winding down, both teams picked up the pace of play.
Shortly thereafter, in the 82nd minute, the Eagles earned a free kick from the top of the box. With Benedictine's Sulka on the line, he sent a firing shot into the upper-right corner of the net and ultimately scored the Eagles' game-winning goal. While there were still eight minutes to go, the Cougars put in an all-out effort to settle the score, including three threatening shots on goal in the final minutes.
Unfortunately, the last-ditch effort was not enough as Benedictine pulled out the 3-2 heartbreaker win. Retana finished the day with nine saves on 19 shots faced.
With the conclusion of the season, the Cougars finished 9-9 overall, their best finish in program history.
For more information about Concordia-Chicago men's soccer in the offseason, visit
cucougars.com and follow them
@cucmsoccer on Twitter.
