RIVER FOREST, Ill. – It was a nice warm, sunny week for our squads, as Concordia University Chicago (CUC) athletics got conference play underway. Check out how the first Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchups played out.
 
Women's Soccer (1-7-1, 1-1)
Women's soccer took on two conference opponents at home this week.

CUC opened conference play with a 1-0 victory against Rockford on September 17. The Cougars had a field day, putting up a barrage of 50 shots. Erika Flores (Oxnard, Calif.) led the offensive charge with nine total shots, five of which were on goal, and was responsible for the long goal of the day. Mia Hirayama (Mililani, Hawaii) and Julia Urbanczyk (New Lenox, Ill.) each tallied five shots with three and four of which were on goal, respectively.

The Cougars then hosted Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) over the weekend. Brooke Sheriff (Simi Valley, Calif.) recorded a career-high 13 saves on 29 shots faced, despite CUC falling 2-0. Natalie Flores (Placentia, Calif.) led the offense with two shots on frame.

This week, women's soccer continues NACC play, hosting Illinois Institute of Technology on Wednesday, September 24, at 2:00 pm. Then on Saturday, September 27, CUC travels to Plymouth, Wis. to take on Lakeland University at 1:00 pm.
 
Men's Soccer (1-6-1, 0-2)
Men's soccer also took on Rockford and MSOE this week.

Against Rockford, the Cougars held a close battle on the road, falling just short, 4-3. Juan Moresco (Mercedes, Soriano) and Caleb Kale (Moline, Ill.) each scored their first collegiate goal for CUC, netting the second and third goals of the day. Bernardo Delgado (Morelia, Michoacán) recorded the Cougars' first goal as well as assisted Moresco's goal.

The squad then came back home to play MSOE. It was a tough battle with the Raiders, as the Cougars fell 6-0. Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) spent most of the game in net for CUC, recording seven saves. Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) took the reigns for the last ten minutes and recorded two saves. Michael Senese (Naperville, Ill.) recorded the Cougars' lone shot of the day.

The men's soccer team will be on the road all week. On Wednesday, September 24, they will take on Illinois Tech at 7:00 pm. Then on Saturday, September 27,
CUC will take on Lakeland at 3:30 pm.
 
Women's Volleyball (3-7, 0-0)
The women's volleyball team played two matches this week.

CUC picked up a road victory on Wednesday, September 17 against Eureka College. Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.) was the lone Cougar to reach double digits, recording 10 kills. Bethany Roethel (Westby, Wis.) and Eva Fitzgerald (Houston, Texas) combined for 12 service aces, while Fitzgerald also registered 23 assists and 11 digs.

The next day, CUC hosted Lake Forest College. It proved to be a battle, going into five sets, but unfortunately the Cougars would fall 3-2. Hunt led the squad again, recording 12 kills, followed closely by Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.), who recorded nine kills and six aces. Harmonie Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) was a wall at the net, totaling five blocks. Defensively, Roethel registered 16 digs. Beatriz Goncalves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and  Ava Quevedo (Colorado Springs, Colo.) combined for nine blocks.

CUC will open conference play on Wednesday, September 24. They will play Rockford on the road at 7:00 pm. Then on the weekend, the Cougars will compete in the Alma College Invitational in Alma, Mich. On Friday, September 26, CUC will play Calvin University to open the tournament at 6:00 pm. The following day, the team will face Anderson University (Ind.) at 9:00 am and then host, Alma College, at 11:00 am.
 
Cross Country
The Cougars took part in the Gil Dodds Invitational this weekend, hosted by Wheaton College. Both squads placed 18^th.

On men's side, Dominic Carlson (Loves Park,Ill.) finished first for the Cougars with a personal record time of 29:52.6. His time was nearly 35 seconds clear of his previous best time. Following closely behind was Nathaniel Hernandez (Harwood Heights, Ill.) with a time of 29:57.6. William Leonard (Oskaloosa, Mo.) came in next with his best 8k time of the season with a 30:41.0. Nathaniel Boksa (Norridge, Ill.) finished just behind with a time of 30:43.8. Julien Saltos (Chicago, Ill.), Kam Jackson (Chicago, Ill.), Gael Arroyo (Cicero, Ill.) also picked up PRs.

Rose Losey (Royal Oak, Mich.) once again led the women's side with a new personal best 6k time of 27:22.2. Sarah Redhage (Lowden, Iowa) finished next for the Cougars with a season best 29:00.4. Lydia Anderson (Carpentersville, Ill.) finished with a time of 30:40.1 with Addi McKee (Knoxville, Ill.) finishing shortly behind her with a time of 33:10.9.

The Cougars will return to action on Saturday October 4 at the 25^th Annual Warrior Cross Country, hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College in West Allis, Wis.
 
Football (2-1, 0-1)
The Cougars began conference at home against St. Norbert.

Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) passed for 242 yards on 17 completions with two touchdowns and one interception. Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) once again led the Cougars on the ground with 44 yards and 16-yard touchdown rush. Kevon Lawson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) led in the air with five receptions for a total of 65 yards. He tied his career-high of a 29-yard touchdown. Jaxon Martinus (Birch Run, Mich.) followed with three receptions and a 38-yard touchdown while Korey Randle (East Moline, III.) completed three catches with a total of 53 yards. Kadin Stroer (Warrenton, Mo.) picked up a career-high ten tackles, two of which were solo.

The Cougars travel to Milwaukee, Wis. on Saturday, September 27, to take on the Warriors of Wisconsin Lutheran College. Game time is set for 1:00 pm.
 
Women's Tennis (0-6, 0-2)
The women's tennis team opened the week with a NACC matchup against Illinois Tech before playing two non-conference matches.

Against Illinois Tech, the Cougars fell 7-0. At No. 1 doubles, At No. 1 doubles, Amelia Engelman (McKinney, Texas) and Amirah Shakir (Dekalb, Ill.) were the only CUC pair to pick up any game wins in their match, falling 6-2. In singles, Engelman battled at first singles, picking up three game wins in set one, but would fall 6-0 in set two. Courtneye Schneider (Plainfield, Ill.) battled hard in her match at sixth singles, taking two game wins in the first set but falling 6-0 in the second set. Kathleen Castillo (Elmwood Park, Ill.) was the last Cougar to pick up a point, falling 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.

The Cougars traveled to Iowa on Sunday, September 21, to play Cornell College and Wartburg College. Despite dropping both matches 7-0, the Cougars showed grit and heart. Against Cornell, Engelman fought hard in set one, falling just short, 6-4, before falling 6-0 in set two at first singles. Hannah Upole (Hinkley, Ohio.), Arriyanna Amison (Dolton, Ill.), and Schneider each picked up two game wins in both sets of their respective singles matches, but couldn't find the surge needed to obtain more points and claim victory. At first doubles, Shakir and Engelman were just edged out in a valiant effort, losing 7-6, with a 7-5 tiebreaker. Against Wartburg, Engelman had the closest battle, falling 6-4 in her first set and 6-1 in the second. Shakir also battled tough, but fell 6-2, 6-1.

This week the team will play two non-conference matches. They will travel to Jacksonville, Ill. on Saturday, September 27, to face Illinois College at 1:00 pm. Then on Sunday, September 28, CUC will host Illinois Wesleyan University at 12:00 pm.
 
Esports
Esports is about to get their seasons underway.

In Smash, the Cougars first competed against Coe College and lost 12-5. CUC struggled out of the gate, unable to take stock in the crew battle until they were able to take two from their starter. The Cougars couldn't take advantage until they took Coe's last stock and got their second played to their last stock. CUC then played Indiana State Sycamore, losing 12-2 overall. The Cougars weren't able to make much movement as Indiana State Sycamore's Luigi player didn't lose any stock until CUC lost nine out of 12. The team ended the activation tournament 0-2 and await group placement for the regular season.

In Overwatch, CUC started the placement tournament taking on Mizzou Club Caspian. The first game was against Lijiang Tower, where the squad got off to a rocky start, dropping map one to Mizzou 80%-100%. However, the Cougars came out swinging to take maps two (100-33) and three (100-71), to secure game one in the best of three series. Strong team play from Connor Bleazard (Saint Joseph, Mo.) and Luis Cortes (Maywood, Ill.) gave the squad an upper hand in the matchup, as the Cougars took the second map, Esperança, 1-0, to win the first match in the bracket. The second match was against a strong University of North Dakota (UND) Green squad. CUC struggled to make a foothold at any point in the series, being forced to play out of its comfort zone due to the chaotic team strategy of UND Green. Despite constant support from Julia Pataluna (Commerce City, Colo.) and Damian Avalos (Chicago, Ill.), the Cougars would fall in games one and three, dropping themselves into the lower bracket. In the final game of the day, CUC played the University of Saint Francis (Ind.). CUC surged forward and would not play from behind the entire first map. Connor Lewandowski (West Dundee, Ill.) led the way with perfect focus and positioning against the chaotic play of Saint Francis. In a fast-paced game on the second map, the Cougars took command from the start and never let up. Bleazard's strong shot calling led the Cougars to a 2-0 win to end the night with an overall 2-1 record in the placement tournament. CUC awaits its placement and will have their first regular season match on Friday, September 26.
 
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.