RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Concordia University Chicago (CUC) athletics is deep in the heart of conference play. Catch up on all the action from this past week and what awaits the Cougars in the coming days.
 
Women's Soccer (4-8-1, 3-3-1)
The Cougars had a light week, only playing one Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) game this week.
 
CUC welcomed sister school, Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) to Concordia Stadium. Erika Flores (Oxnard, Calif.) led the squad with three shots and one shot on goal, but the Falcons took the win, 3-0. Naomi Gonzales (Santa Rosa, Calif.) collected four saves throughout the ninety minutes, while Grace Chavez (Morgan Hill, Calif.) contributed offensively with two shots and one shot on goal.
 
This week, the Cougars play two NACC games on the road. On Wednesday, October 14, CUC heads to Benedictine University for a 7:00 pm game. Then on Saturday, October 17, CUC travels north to take on Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC). Kick off will be at 3:30 pm.
 
Men's Soccer (2-7-2, 1-5-1)
CUC men's soccer continued its stretch on the road with a trip up to CUW.
 
Leonardo Pedraza (Waukegan, Ill.) scored a late goal for the Cougars, but the team ultimately fell 2-1 to the Falcons. Damian Navas (Chicago, Ill.) had the assist on CUC's goal and had two shots of his own. Matthew Laboy (Chicago, Ill.) led the offense with three shots and two on frame. In net, Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) and Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) combined for five saves.
 
This week the Cougars finally return home on Wednesday, October 14. CUC hosts Benedictine at 2:00 pm. Then on Saturday, October 17, the Cougars travel up to WLC for a 1:00 pm kickoff.
 
Women's Volleyball (6-11, 2-2)
Women's volleyball had a full home slate this week with three matches.
 
On Wednesday, CUC hosted Illinois Tech for a NACC matchup. The Scarlet Hawks came out swinging early and while CUC was able to claw back and take set three, the Cougars eventually fell, 3-1. Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.) and Debanhi Moreno (Dallas, Texas) co-led the squad with five kills each. Foster also added five digs and two blocks while Moreno contributed nine digs. Jessalyne Perkins (Chicago, Ill.) had four kills, three digs, and five blocks. Rosemary Brenner (Frankenmuth, Mich.) registered a career-high 30 digs and Malainna Adler (Fenton, Mo.) had 19 assists.
 
Then on Saturday, CUC hosted the Maroon and Gold Tri, welcoming Luther College and Saint Mary's College (Ind.) to Geiseman Gymnasium. In match one, CUC took on Luther and fell 3-1. Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.) led the squad with nine kills while tacking on one service ace, one block, and three digs. Adler recorded 13 assists. Defensively, Brenner made 22 digs while Harmonie Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) and Brynn Icenogle (Brentwood, Calif.) each totaled four blocks. In the match against Saint Mary's, CUC fell 3-0. Foster led CUC with six kills and 10 digs. Perkins recorded a team-high three blocks while Cooper and Weronika Kurnat (Burbank, Ill.) each had two. Adler added 14 more assists to her total for the day.
 
This week, the Cougars stay busy with three matches. On Tuesday, October 13, CUC takes a road trip to Elmhurst University. First serve will be at 7:00 pm. CUC then returns to Geiseman Gymnasium for two NACC matchups. On Thursday, October 15, CUC hosts Benedictine at 6:00 pm. Then on Saturday, October 17, CUC hosts WLC at 12:00 pm.
 
Cross Country
CUC will be in Rock Island, Ill. on Saturday, October 17. They will run at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, hosted by Augustana College. 
 
Women's Tennis (1-9, 1-5)
The Cougars played three NACC matches this week.
 
The Cougars picked up their first NACC victory of the season against WLC, 6-1. The Cougars swept in the doubles matches, winning all three and taking the doubles point.  Brianna Bentz (Whitehall, Mich.) and Hannah Upole (Hinkley, Ohio.) set the tone at No. 2 doubles, shutting their opponents out, 6-0. Both duos of Amelia Engelman (McKinney, Texas and Amirah Shakir (Dekalb, Ill.) and Abigail Krueger (Brookfield, Ill.) and Sarah Gustafson (Merrill, Wis.) defeated their opponents 6-3 at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles respectively. Engelman, Bentz, Shakir, Krueger, and Gustafson each won their singles matches as well.
 
CUC then faced Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) on Friday and fell 5-2. Krueger and Gustafson shut out MSOE at No. 3 doubles, 6-0, but the Raiders won the other two doubles matches and took the doubles point. Krueger won at No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-1. Gustafson also won her singles match, winning 6-3, 6-2 in the sixth spot.
 
The final match of the week was a road contest against St. Norbert College (SNC). Engelman and Shakir held the closest doubles contest, falling 6-4 at No. 1 doubles. At No. 2 singles, Engelman battled her opponent closely, narrowly falling 7-5 in the first set before dropping the second set 6-2. Every Cougar picked up at least one point in their singles matches.
 
This week, the Cougars finish out the regular season. They face Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill. on Wednesday, October 14 at 3:00 pm. Then CUC ends the regular season hosting Marian University on Saturday, October 17, at 10:00 am.
 
Football (3-2, 1-2)
CUC took on Aurora University this weekend, falling 52-0 on the road.
 
Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.)  led the Cougars' passing game with a total of 68 yards. Phoenyx Clark (South Bend, Ind.) led on the ground with 51 rushing yards. Korey Randle (East Moline, Ill.) had three receptions for a total of 55 yards. On the defensive side, Kadin Stroer (Warrenton, Mo.) led with 12 total tackles, six of which were solo.
 
CUC returns to Concordia Stadium on Saturday, October 17. They host Lakeland University at 1:00 pm.
 
Esports
Both the Smash team and Overwatch team competed this week.
 
The Smash team defeated University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), 2-0. In game one, James Bruxvoort (Holland, Mich.) led the charge with Dark Pit, taking five stocks from UWSP. Cameron Hall (Chicago, Ill.) followed with Snake and took three stocks, while Giovanni Jaramillo (Stone Park, Ill.) took two with Samus. UWSP lost their final two stocks on misplays, giving the Cougars the victory, 12-8. In game two, Luis Cortes (Maywood, Ill.) took one stock with King K Rool. Jaramillo followed and took the next 11 stocks in a row, guiding the Cougars to a 12-5 victory, and a match win of 2-0.
 
CUC will play Dunwoody College of Technology on Tuesday, October 13, at 7:00 pm.
 
The Overwatch team faced Purdue Lime and won 3-0. The Cougars chose the first map of Samoa and won 2-0. Connor Bleazard (Saint Joseph, Mo.) had impressive gameplay on tank with Zarya, going 31-7-1, dealing 10k damage, and blocking 5k overall. Jaramillo kept the line moving with almost 9k healing. Excellent positioning and target selection gave CUC the 1-0 series lead. For game two, Julia Pataluna (Commerce City, Colo.) competed in first game of the fall, going 4-17-1 with 2k damage and 5k healing to keep the team going strong. Myla Arganoza (River Grove, Ill.) stood out, recording three clutch eliminations and going 13-1-2, dealing 7k damage, and only going down twice. Defensively, the Cougars shined, holding Purdue off and took the game and a 2-0 series lead. In game three, the match moved to Flashpoint on Survasa. Cortes and Ephraim Fisher (Yorkville, Ill.) were in perfect sync, supporting each other and making consistent plays. The Cougars took three points in a row for a 3-0 game victory and to take the match 3-0.
 
You can keep up with all things CUC Athletics on X @CUChicagoSports, watch all the action at cucougars.com/coverage, and view all photos from the seasons here.