RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Homecoming week was a lot of fun and filled with lots of home action for Concordia University Chicago (CUC) athletics. Check out last week's action and what's coming up for the Cougars.
 
Women's Soccer (2-9-2, 2-3-1)
Women's soccer took on Aurora University and St. Norbert College (SNC).

Against the Spartans, the Cougars traded chances and momentum throughout the game.  Angelina Barreno (Chicago, Ill.) scored CUC's lone goal, equalizing the game at 1-1, but a late goal for Aurora stole the draw from the Cougars and they fell 2-1.  Brooke Sheriff (Simi Valley, Calif.) recorded four saves in net.

On Sunday, CUC hosted St. Norbert in an intense 1-1 draw. Barreno once again put her name on the scoresheet, putting the ball into the back of the net off a corner kick by Morgan Burnap (Strafford, N.H.). Barreno led the team with five total shots and three on frame while Natalie Flores (Placentia, Calif.) followed closely behind with two shots on goal with three total shots.

This week, women's soccer will play just one game. The Cougars will travel to Mequon, Wis. to face Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) on Wednesday, October 8. Kickoff is set for 4:00 pm.
 
Men's Soccer (1-10-1, 0-6)
Men's soccer hosted Aurora and SNC this past week.

CUC was on the defensive from the opening whistle against Aurora and ultimately fell 3-0. Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) recorded a career-high 16 saves on the afternoon and made multiple strong defensive plays to minimize the damage. Offensively, Giovanni Velasquez (Cicero, Ill.), Michael Senese (Naperville, Ill.), and Isaac Hernandez (Crystal Lake, Ill.) each had a shot on frame.

Against SNC, Gudiel continued to be an important factor for Cougars, recording nine saves in the 2-0 loss. Caleb Kale (Moline, Ill.) had the Cougars' lone shot on goal and had his other shot bounce off the crossbar.

The men's soccer team will host CUW on Wednesday, October 8, at 2:00 pm in River Forest.
 
Women's Volleyball (4-12, 0-3)
The women's volleyball team took on Edgewood University and SNC this week.

CUC hosted the Eagles of Edgewood on Thursday, October 2. Despite a hot start, the Cougars fell 3-1. Beatriz Goncalves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) led the Cougars with 10 kills while Rachel Livesay (Medinah, Ill.) who recorded six kills and 11 digs. Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.) recorded five kills, six digs, and four blocks. Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) and Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.) also totaled five kills.

The Cougars then traveled to Wisconsin to play St. Norbert on Saturday. Foster led the offense with seven kills, followed by Ava Quevedo (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Day, and Hunt, who all had four. Malainna Adler (Fenton, Mo.) recorded seven assists, seven digs, and two service aces, while Isabel Valle (Chino, Calif.) led CUC with 14 assists.

This week, the Cougars continue conference play this week, taking a short trip to Chicago to face Illinois Institute of Technology on Wednesday, October 8. First serve will be at 6:00 pm. Then on Saturday, October 11, CUC will be home in Geiseman Gymnasium to host Alverno College at 12:00 pm.
 
Cross Country
The Cougars ran at the 25^th Annual Warrior Cross Country, hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College in West Allis, Wis. where both teams finished eighth.

Rose Losey (Royal Oak, Mich.) led the women's side with a top 25 finish and a time of 28:06.0. The next Cougar to cross the line was  Sarah Redhage (Lowden, Iowa) with a time of 29:38.1. Marlena Butler (Norridge, Ill.), Amya Marquez (Berwyn, Ill.), and Addi McKee (Knoxville, Ill.) all followed closely behind to round out the top-five for CUC.

For the men, Dominic Carlson (Loves Park, Ill.) paced all Cougars with a personal best time of 29:45.9 to finish 30^th. Carlson's time was seven seconds faster than his previous best. William Leonard (Oskaloosa, Mo.) followed closely behind with a time of 30:31.9 and third over the line was Nathaniel Boksa (Norridge, Ill.) came in next for CUC with a time of 30:43.9. Nathaniel Hernandez (Harwood Heights, Ill.) and Julien Saltos (Chicago, Ill.) rounded out the top-five.

The Cougars will take a week off before running at the 5^th Annual Interregional Invitational, hosted by Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.
 
Football (3-2, 1-2)
The Cougars secured a dominant 49-20 victory over Eureka College on Homecoming Saturday.

Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) led on the ground, rushing for 70 yards and passing for 272 yards, including five complete touchdown passes. Joron Brown (St.Joseph, Mich.) rushed a total of 69 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown. Kevon Lawson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) led CUC with five receptions for 32 yards, including one touchdown. Wesley Jackson (Robinson, III.) followed with four receptions for 85 yards, two touchdowns, with his longest reception of 51 yards. Korey Randle (East Moline, III.) recorded a 53-yard touchdown. Zeineldeen Amer (Plano, Texas) led the defense with eight tackles, two of which were solo and half of a sack. Brandon Shipp (Bolingbrook, III.) and Kadin Stroer (Warrenton, Mo.) followed closely behind, each totaling seven tackles. Jordan Lacey (Belleville, III.) picked up one interception, five tackles, two of which were solo.

The Cougars have a bye week this weekend and will return to action on Saturday, October 18. CUC will play Rockford University on the road at 1:00 pm.
 
Women's Tennis (0-12, 0-6)
The women's tennis team had a busy start to October, playing in four matches.

CUC started the week against CUW, losing 6-1. Amelia Engelman (McKinney, Texas) picked up the lone win for the Cougars in a three-set thriller. Engelman dominated the first set 6-1, but saw a reversal in set two, falling 6-0. In a nail-biting finale, Engelman came out on top, 10-8, in the tiebreaker. Amirah Shakir (Dekalb, Ill.) rallied in her singles match, putting up a strong fight, but fell 6-3, 6-2. In doubles, Engelman and Shakir showed grit as they worked for each point they got; however, their efforts were stopped short as they fell 6-2 at No. 1 doubles. Partners Kathleen Castillo (Elmwood Park, Ill.) and Courtneye Schneider (Plainfield, Ill.) as well as Hannah Upole (Hinkley, Ohio.) and Arriyanna Amison (Dolton, Ill.) each achieved one point but both were overtaken by the Falcons, 6-1.

The Cougars then played two matches on Saturday, falling 6-1 to both St. Norbert and Ripon College. Against St. Norbert, the No. 3 doubles pairing of Amison and Schneider secured a well-earned 6-2 victory, but the Cougars fell in the other two doubles matches, giving the point to the Green Knights. In singles, Engelman secured the Cougars' lone point of the match, securing victory at No. 1 singles with set scores of 6-4 and 6-2. However, St. Norbert continued showcasing their strong suits in single plays, sweeping the other five matches in straight sets. Shakir was hoping to create a struggle for the opponent but fell short 6-3, 6-1. Against Ripon, Schneider and Amison picked up their second victory of the day, defeating the Redhawks, 6-2, at third doubles. However, the Redhawks were able to battle strong in doubles play, and take the doubles point, winning the other two doubles matches. Engelman picked up the solo Cougar point against Ripon. In a hard-fought battle of skill, Engelman outplayed her opponent in two sets, 6-4, 6-3, to secure the point. Schneider did not go down easy at sixth singles, falling 7-5, 6-3.

On Sunday, the Cougars traveled to play Edgewood and fell 7-0. Engelman battled her way at first singles but fell in two 6-1 sets. Amison also dropped her singles match in two 6-1 sets. Upole and Schneider each picked up game wins in their respective matches, but each fell 6-0, 6-1. At doubles, Engelman and Shakir played side by side and demonstrated great perseverance but fell just shot 6-3.

The Cougars will host Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) on Wednesday, October 8, at 3:00 pm. Then CUC will host Lakeland on Sunday, October 12, at 12:00 pm.
 
Esports
Esports played two matches this week.

In Smash, the Cougars took on Thomas More University. It was a back-and-forth game one, with the Cougars taking charge by taking six stocks from their opponent before dropping game one, 12-7. In the second game, Thomas More was used a different player to lead off and the Cougars were unable to find their footing against the aggressive playstyle and dropped game two, losing 2-0 overall to Thomas More. The Cougars are now 0-2 and will next play University of Michigan – Flint Maize on Tuesday, October 7, at 6:00 pm.

In Overwatch, CUC competed against Missouri State White, winning 3-0. The match was all about teamwork and play making potential from the Cougar captains. Connor Bleazard (Saint Joseph, Mo.) led the charge in game one on control, dealing 10k damage while blocking 10k coming from Missouri State. Bleazard went overall 19-4-1 and Connor Lewandowski (West Dundee, Ill.) went 19-0-1 with 5k damage dealt throughout the game. In game two, the Cougars continued to dominate, despite not picking the map. Bleazard had an outstanding performance on tank going 38-7-1 with 22k damage. This gave the Cougars' supports, Damian Avalos (Chicago, Ill.) and Julia Pataluna (Commerce City, Colo.) plenty of time to heal up with 11k each. With a 2-0 lead heading into game three, CUC felt confident and came out strong, starting with a commanding 3-0 lead on attack before defending. Missouri State was able to muster an attack by taking the first two points handedly, but CUC held the line with Luis Cortes (Maywood, Ill.) finding key targets to stall out Missouri State's attack to secure the 3-2 game win and the overall match victory, 3-0. The Cougars are 1-1 and will have two matches this week. CUC will play Waldorf (Iowa) on Thursday, October 9, at 7:30.
 
You can keep up with all things CUC Athletics on Twitter @CUChicagoSports, watch all the action at cucougars.com/coverage, and view all photos from the seasons here.