RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- Kicking off their second game in as many days on opening weekend, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars battled with the Greenville University Panthers this afternoon into a double overtime, 2-2 draw.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Esmeralda Torres provided more offensive production today, scoring CUC's equalizing goal in the 84th minute of play. Today's goal was her second goal of the weekend.
- Appearing in the second half and both overtime periods, freshman goalkeeper Kassie Silenzi was clutch in net, coming up with four huge saves for the Cougars down the stretch.
- Samantha Goodlett scored Concordia's first goal today, marking her first goal scored since Sept. 16, 2017, during her freshman year.
- CUC out shot and out cornered the Panthers, 21-11 and 6-3, respectively.
The Cougars and Panthers went right to work on opening kick off. While tossing up possessions Greenville's Jen De Leon De Leon managed to thread the needle between two Cougar defenders and send a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net during the 16th minute.
Falling behind early on, CUC continued to press the Panther defense and produce five first half shots. Eventually, with just under eight minutes to go in the half, Goodlett notched a shot from nearly 35 yards out that slipped in behind Greenville's keeper.
After evening the score at one apiece, the Panthers remained relentless and put pressure on Concordia's defense. Just after Goodlett's goal, Greenville earned a near breakaway chance just before Silenzi came out of the net and made a falling kick save to preserve the 1-1 game, heading into halftime.
Coming out of the intermission, Greenville hung onto possession and created trouble for the Cougars. In the 70th minute of play, a CUC foul earned the Panthers a free kick. From there, Greenville's Michelle Grotefendt lifted a high strike that found the boot of De Leon De Leon, and once again put the Panthers ahead by one.
As CUC trailed 2-1 with about five minutes remaining, a long pass intended for
Cecilia Kochanek managed to find the hands of a Panther inside the box. Earning a penalty kick for the Cougars, Torres took the strike and found the back of the net to equalize the game at two goals each.
With the game tied at the end of regulation, the Cougars forced the Panthers into an overtime duel. While Concordia-Chicago out shot Greenville 4-1 during the extra periods, no goals would be scored as the two teams would be forced to settle for a draw.
CUC will return to action next on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2 at 4:30 p.m. to close out opening weekend against Lake Forest College.
