The Concordia University Chicago men's soccer team (0-7-1) produced some of their best soccer this season on Wednesday, April 14, against the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors (3-3-2), but sadly the scoreboard didn't reflect those efforts as the game finished 2-0 to the visitors.
 
Forward Jason Cano gave the Warriors the lead in the 13th minute despite the efforts of Cougar defender Alberto Arellano (Chicago, Ill.), who cleared the ball off the line from a previous shot only to see Cano score on the rebound.
 
The game then changed dramatically nine minutes later when, after being shown a yellow card for a foul on Cougar goalkeeper Joseph Perez (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Cano was then shown a straight red card for his response to the referee for the yellow-card decision. CUC played the remaining 70 minutes of the game up a player, and the balance of play reflected that.
 
The Cougars' best attacking outlet proved to be senior forward Gerardo Medina (Cicero, Ill.), who was credited with four shots, including two on target. Medina proved a difficult task for WLC's center-backs, making quick diagonal runs in behind the defense and frequently finding dangerous positions. He came closest to a goal when a skillful, curling effort with his left foot struck the intersection of the post and crossbar late in the first half.
 
As the game wore on, the Cougars continued to push forward and take chances in search of an equalizing goal. However, this presented the opportunity for WLC's second goal as a quick counter-attack resulted in forward Ryan Mazza scoring a second goal for the Warriors with less than 15 minutes remaining.
 
In addition to Medina, the Cougars had a standout performance by freshman Grayden McClellan (Itasca, Ill.) as he made his second collegiate start and played at right-back. He frequently provided an outlet for Perez to start buildups and took advantage of the extra space on the field created by Cano's sending off.
 
The same was true of sophomore forward Ryan Kuhlman (Darien, Ill.), who took two shots and worked well in tandem with Medina in the Cougars' attack.
 
CUC will look to carry over Wednesday's positives to Sunday, April 18, when they play their final regular season game against Rockford University at home. Before the game, the Cougars will honor their three seniors in Medina, Bryce Bilodeau and Gianni Gaskins.