RIVER FOREST, ILL. – The Concordia University Chicago Cougars hosted the Red Hawks of Ripon College this afternoon, on their home turf. The Cougars mounted the pressure on the Red Hawks and walked away with a 2-0 victory.

Inside the Box
Nine total Cougars took shots this afternoon, 10 of 15 total shots were on goal.
Julisa Diaz (Chicago, Ill.) scored Concordia's first goal in the 40^th minute, heading it into the back of the net.
Allie Brown (St. Louis, Mo.) scored the second goal in the 44^th minute, following the ball through to the goal.
Izzy Fairless (Royal Oak, Mich.) led the team with three shots, all of which were on goal.
Brooke Sheriff (Simi Valley, Calif.) notched her second consecutive shutout and made two saves.

How it Happened
Within the first 30 seconds of the game, the Cougars charged down the field and Valeria Fernandez (Burbank, Ill.) forced a tough save from the Red Hawks' keeper. Concordia continued to keep the offensive momentum, with Fairless forcing another save from Ripon's keeper, Quetzalli Arteaga-Vazquez (Harrisonburg, Va.) getting one off her foot just wide, and Natalie Flores (Placentia, Calif.) hitting the woodwork. Sheriff made two saves down low just before the 30-minute mark to keep the game scoreless. After knocking on the door all half, the Cougars finally took the lead in the 40^th minute. Pamela Saldivar (Chicago, Ill.) lofted a beautiful corner into the box and found the header of Diaz, who headed it right past the goalkeeper.
 

GOALLLLLLLLLLL FOR THE COUGARS!!!!!

Julisa Diaz finds the back of the net off the corner from Pamela Saldivar and the Cougars are officially up 1-0 with under six to play in the half 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/4qUWW2cG76

— CUC WSOC (@CUCWSOC) September 4, 2024

Brown then doubled the lead in the 44^th minute. Ripon's goalkeeper tried to paw a lofted ball back down to grab, but instead brought it down in the path of Brown who ran through the ball and put it in the back of the net.

ANOTHA ONE 🔥

Allie Brown is in the right place at the right time and puts it in to bring the Cougars up 2-0 heading into the half pic.twitter.com/1v70sPRcpY

— CUC WSOC (@CUCWSOC) September 4, 2024

In the 64^th minute, Brown almost tallied another goal for the Cougars, getting the ball off her foot and low to the corner, but the Red Hawk's goalkeeper was able to get down and make the save. Concordia would have five more shots saved this afternoon, while keeping the Red Hawks at zero shots the second half, to claim the 2-0 victory.

The Cougars return to Concordia Stadium in River Forest on Saturday September 7 for senior day. The game time is set for 1:00 pm. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.