River Forest, Ill. – Battling the weather and the Pioneers of Carroll University, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars fell 8-6.
Inside the Box
- Jarred Tabor (Crystal Lake, Ill.) completed his second career hat trick while grabbing his eleventh goal of the season.
- Andrew Lechuga (El Monte, Calif.), Sean Dooley (Ocala, Fla.), and Aidan Vizi (Bethel, Ct.) all followed behind with one goal apiece.
- Lechuga and Zach Cicero (Chicago, Ill.) both recorded two assists on the day while Frank Dougherty (East Peoria, Ill.) followed behind with one.
- Justin Headley (Baltimore, Md.) led the team with seven groundballs.
- Sebastian Miller (Cherry Hill, N.J.) recorded 18 saves in the goal.
With the Cougars winning the opening faceoff, Dooley picked up his only ground ball of the day. The Pioneers took possession quickly before back to back shots followed by a groundball picked up by Cicero would send the Cougars on their first offensive possession of the game. As Cicero cut across the right side of the field, Lechuga was left open on the backside for the first goal of the game, less than two minutes in.
About four minutes later a rocket from Tabor from the 25 yard line would find its way inside the net off a pass from Dougherty, giving the Cougars the 2-0 advantage. Looking to retaliate, the Pioneers quickly tied the game up, closing the first quarter 2-2.
The Pioneers kept their momentum as they would go on a 5-0 scoring run to take the lead before a huge save from Miller followed by a fast paced clear from Headley would put Tabor in scoring position to keep the Cougars in the game as the first half closed.
Fresh out of the half the Pioneers put another two on the board, continuing to put pressure on the Cougars. Following a turnover from the Pioneers's goalie, Lechuga picked up the groundball with a two-on-one opportunity dishing the ball over to Dooley to grab his first career goal in the maroon and gold. This goal would spark a necessary shift for the Cougars as they in turn went on a 3-0 scoring run.
Minutes after Dooley's goal, Cicero cut across the right side to find an open Vizi in the middle as he bounced one past the goalie for his first career goal in the maroon and gold. Riding the momentum, a pass from Lechuga out to Tabor waiting at the 25 yard line yet again would cut the Pioneer lead 7-6 as the third quarter closed.
With one more goal sneaking past Miller, the Cougars found themselves back at a two goal deficit and unable to convert. Six shots and eight turnovers from the Cougars within the last 13 minutes of the game would be the deciding factor as they fell with a final score 8-6.
After this matchup, the Cougars will officially start conference play as they head up North to take on Marian University on Saturday at 12:00 pm. Coverage can be found at
cucougars.com/coverage and on Twitter and Instagram @
cuchicagolax.
