RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's soccer team has been putting in the work to prepare for the 2025 season. Catch up on what happened last season and what's to come this fall.
 
In his third season as head coach, Brad Callahan is excited for the season and what this team can do. "We had a good season last year with a lot of young players that have gained experience and are coming back more confident," Callhan said. "We have a great group returning that we are building upon this year, and we have the potential to do great things as a team."
 
Last Season
The Cougars finished 4-12 overall, and 3-9 in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) last fall.

The season started with a few non-conference games, in which CUC went 1-3. They lost to Carthage College 3-1 and University of St. Francis (Ill.) 2-1, before defeating Kuyper College 3-1, on September 10^th. The Cougars rounded out their slate of
non-conference games with a 2-1 loss to Hope College.

As conference play began, CUC played four games in 12 days, in which Rockford University and Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) were home matches while Lakeland University and Aurora University were road matches. It was a tough stretch, as the Cougars struggled and dropped all four contests. However, there were some highlights for the Cougars to take away, as Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) recorded a career-high 63 minutes in net with three saves against Rockford and Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) recorded three saves against WLC.

To kick off October, the Cougars picked up their first NACC win of the season, 1-0 against Illinois Institute of Technology on the road. After a close 4-2 loss at St. Norbert College on the road, CUC came back to River Forest and took down Marian University 3-2. With two more home matches on the docket, the Cougars went 1-1. CUC fell to Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) 2-0, but an opening goal from  Michael Senese (Naperville, Ill.) helped lead the Cougars to a 3-2 victory over Benedictine University.

A trip up to Mequon for the final road match of the season came on October 19^th. CUC faced Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) in a back-and-forth match that unfortunately shook out the wrong way, resulting in a 5-4 loss.

The Cougars played their final two games of the season at home against Edgewood University and Dominican University, falling 6-1 and 7-1, respectively.
 
Returning Players
The Cougars will look to several key returning players to lead the squad in the upcoming season.

In the midfield, Michael Senese (Naperville, Ill.) steps into his sophomore season as having tied for the top spot in goal scoring last year with three and recording the second-most points with seven. Last season he scored in his collegiate debut against Carthage.

Senior Giovanni Velasquez (Cicero, Ill.) comes back from injury and returns as a leading force in the back line. His leadership and huge defensive plays will be a key point for the Cougars this season.

The Cougars have plenty of experienced goalkeepers with senior Kyle Schultz (Pingree Grove, Ill.) and sophomores Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) and Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) leading the way and being the voices in the backfield.

"We have great returners with some speed up top to create goal scoring opportunities," Coach Callhan noted. "We also have the technical ability and vision throughout the midfield, and strong leadership, defensive abilities, and distribution out of the backline, and goalkeepers to shut down our opponents."
 
New Faces
Twelve talented new names join the roster this season, including Cristian Barajas Vargas (Cicero, Ill.), Asael Castaneda (Bensenville, Ill.), Anton Dershem (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Ian Dvonch (Shelbyville, Ky.), Cristian Escobar (Chicago, Ill.), Miguel Figuerora (Chicago, Ill.), Jefferson Garcia (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Caleb Kale (Moline, Ill.), Matthew Laboy (Chicago, Ill.), Ivan Pelayo (Midlothian, Ill.), Miguel Salamanca (Chicago, Ill.), and Andre Wangandu (Lansing, Mich.).
 
"Despite having a smaller freshman class this year (Barajas Vargas, Kale, and Pelayo), they are already making an impact," Coach Callahan said. "We also brought in quite a few transfers who are also putting their mark on the program."
 
A Look Ahead
The Cougars will open the season at home against Lawrence University on August 30^th, followed by four more home games against Andrew University, Blackburn College, Caltech, and University of Wisconsin Stevens-Point. One final non-conference game on the road against Eureka College will be on September 13^th.

NACC play will begin on September 17^th with an away contest against Rockford University. CUC will then come back home for a game against MSOE on the 21^st, before traveling again to face Illinois Institute of Technology and Lakeland on September 24^th and 27^th, respectively.

A slew of home events kicks off October as the Cougars host Aurora, St. Norbert, and CUW, starting October 1^st. A quick trip to Benedictine on October 15^th splits the string of home games, with WLC and Edgewood coming to River Forest on the 18^th and 22^nd, respectively. The Cougars take one last trip up to Wisconsin to take on Marian on October 25^th before finishing out the regular season on October 29^th down the road at Dominican.

The postseason NACC tournament will begin on November 1.

"We have a lot of potential for this season," Coach Callhan beamed. "The players enjoy the process of working hard and being competitive. If we work hard, have confidence, and come into every game knowing we have done more reps, ran more, practiced harder than our opponents, we should have the mindset that we should win… We look to win every game and play as a team connecting on and off the field with a positive team chemistry."
 
2024 Statistical Leaders
Goals: Garrett Poynter*, Michael Senese, Spencer Nicholson* (3)
Shots: Garrett Poynter* (45)
Shots on Goal: Garrett Poynter* (28)
Saves: Nethan Gudiel (49)
 
*- Indicates graduated player
 
CUC Men's Soccer begins the 2025 campaign tomorrow, August 30th, hosting Lawrence at 2:00 pm at Concordia Stadium. Coverage for the game as well as anything related to Concordia men's soccer can be found at cucougars.com.