RIVER FOREST, ILL. - The Concordia University Chicago Cougars took the field for the first time in the 2024 season where they battled with the Carthage College Firebirds. With 11 new faces seeing the field Concordia Stadium for the first time, the Cougars would battle with the Firebirds, ultimately falling 3-1.
Inside The Box
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Michael Senese (Naperville, Ill.) secured the lone goal for the Cougars off his one lone shot on the day.
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Kyle Schultz (Pingree Grove, Ill.) handled all 90 minutes in the goal while picking up five total saves on the day.
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Garrett Poynter (Noblesville, Ind.) handled ball well throughout the game, picking up the single assist while also contributing two of the seven shots on goal.
How It Happened
The Cougars started out the game with possession and capitalized early. Poynter found an opening down the left side of the field and after finding an opening, he was able to get the first shot of the day off. After two consecutive shots missed on either side of the net, a corner kick put the ball back in play, but a strong save from Schultz would keep the slate blank.
Both teams would struggle to get into rhythm after four yellow cards would be issued in a matter of ten minutes, but the Cougars would utilize the momentum from it and put a goal on the board first. After a Firebird free kick would end up in Cougar possession, a long boot down the field from
Elias De Santiago (Chicago, Ill.) would move freshman Senese into space where a one-touch pass from Poynter would allow Senese to put the ball far post into the corner net.
Carthage would come out of halftime with a fire lit beneath them and even the score in the 52nd minute. A few good shots from
Giovanni Velasquez (Cicero, Ill.) and
Spencer Nicholson (Fort Collins, Colo.) would keep the Cougars in the groove, but another string of three consecutive yellow cards would break the momentum that had built. The Firebirds would take advantage of the momentum drop and jump ahead 2-1. Shortly after goal number two for the Firebirds, a controversial call between two officials would result in reversing an offside call and awarding Carthage their third and final goal of the day.
Despite keeping the intensity at a peak, the Cougars would be unable to overcome the new deficit and would fall to the Firebirds 3-1. The Cougars will take a few days to re-coup, but will be back in action on Saturday, September 7th for anothe non-conference matchup against St. Francis. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 pm in Joliet, Illinois. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
