RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's soccer team hosted the Green Knights of St. Norbert College (SNC) this afternoon in a Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup. Despite the Cougars keeping the Green Knights at bay in the first half, SNC found a spark in the second half and took the game 2-0.
 
Inside the Box

• Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) recorded nine saves against the green nights.
• Caleb Kale (Moline, Ill.) recorded the Cougars' lone shot on frame, while his second shot of the day nearly went in, just hitting the crossbar.
• Asael Castaneda (Bensenville, Ill.) also recorded two shots.

 
First Half

• Just four minutes into the game, Gudiel made a diving save on a close range shot from SNC to deny an early opportunity for the visitors.
• The Cougars quickly got the ball out and up into their offensive zone to put pressure on the Green Knights. Justin Ocampo (Melrose Park, Ill.) stripped the Green Knights of possession and played a through ball to Roman Klozik (New Lenox, Ill.). SNC's goalkeeper came out and denied Klozik a shot but put the ball right at Kale's feet. Kale took the open opportunity and narrowly missed, hitting the crossbar. Klozik and Castaneda each followed up with shots but strong defensive efforts from the Green Knights kept the game scoreless.
• For the rest of the half, the Cougars would play strong defensively, with Andre Wangandu (Lansing, Mich.), Daniel Guttierez (Chicago, Ill.), Giovanni Velasquez (Cicero, Ill.) and Isaac Hernandez (Crystal Lake, Ill.) keeping a tight back line.
• Gudiel continued to make important saves, including an outstretched overhead grab, just before the halftime break.

 
Second Half

• The Cougars held on for a few more minutes before the Green Knights found the back of the net in the 52^nd minute.
• Castaneda looked to respond in the 56^th minute but his shot was just high.
• Gudiel made two important saves in the 57^th and 58^th minutes. First, Gudiel came out into the path of the SNC forward, who had no choice but to shoot the ball straight into Gudiel's arms. In the next minute, Gudiel punched the ball up and out on a hard shot, keeping the deficit to one.
• In the 64^th minute, the Cougars had a great chance to level the game. Hernandez won the ball in the backfield and gave it to Kale, who had a give-and-go with Ocampo and then surged to the top of the box. Kale cut inside and fired at the net, but strong hands from SNC's goalkeeper kept the ball out of the net.
• In the 66^th minute, the Cougars would go down 2-0 after the Green Knights capitalized on a penalty kick.
• The Cougars continued to battle for the remainder of the game but couldn't overcome the deficit and fell 2-0.

 
What's Next
The Cougars will play Wednesday, October 8, at Concordia Stadium. CUC will host Concordia University Wisconsin at 2:00 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's soccer can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.