RIVER FOREST, ILL. -- In the 2026 season finale, the Concordia Unviersity Chicago (CUC) men's soccer team took their home field to face their Division Street Rivals in Dominican University. Despite strong showings from the Cougars, they'd close the regular season with a 1-1 draw.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Giovanni Flores (Chicago, Ill.) was the lone Cougar to score, striking the back of the net in the 58th minute.
- Damian Navas (Chicago, Ill.) led the offensive efforts with four total shots, two of which were on frame.
- Leonardo Pedraza (Chicago, Ill.) had two shots on the day, including a ringer off the crossbar in the 90th minute.
- Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) picked up the start in goal, nabbing three saves and holding the Stars scoreless through 45 minutes.
- Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) played the second half, grabbing four saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
From the jump, the Cougars started attacking offensively, notching the first shot of the day off the foot of Navas. Shots from
Javier Marchan-Salgado (Chicago, Ill.),
Alexander Barrera (Chicago, Ill.), and Navas would continue to put pressure on the Dominican defense, but the Cougars would be unable to find the net in the first half. On the defensive side, Zizak built a brick wall in the net, making three saves including stops on consecutive Domincan attempts in the 44th minute. Late in the half, Domincan had one of their most promising looks, but a diving Zizak would scoop the ball up before trouble ensued. The two teams would head into half scoreless.
SECOND HALF
Picking up where they left off in the first half, the Cougars started attacking offensively once again. A corner kick in the 51st minute would show some promise, but a wide shot from
Matthew Laboy (Chicago, Ill.) would leave the Cougars still scoreless. With some fresh legs on the field in Flores, the Cougars would find some speed downfield on a perfect opportunity. Pedraza would feed the ball ahead on the near side to
Ronald Bardales who would send the ball into the box with his left foot, finding Flores waiting just outside the box. With his left foot, Flores would send the ball far post, finding side net, and giving the Cougars the lead.
The Stars would pick up the intensity once they were trailing and get aggressive on the offensive side of the field. After some great attempts off a corner kick, the Stars would level the score on a set piece right in front of the sideline. The two teams would exchange shots back-and-forth until the final minute of the game where CUC would hit the jets. Navas would hit an open shot from 40-yards out that would be saved by the Dominican keeper, deflecting and landing right at the foot of Pedraza who would have a one-on-one with the keeper, but would send the shot off the crossbar, dramatically ending the game in a 1-1 draw.
Though the Cougars celebrated senior day on Sunday, four Cougars wrapped up their time at Concordia Stadium in
Jefferson Garcia (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Miguel Salamanca (Chicago, Ill.),
Evin Perez (Crystal Lake, Ill.), and
Andre Wangandu (Lansing, Mich.). CUC Men's Soccer would like to thank these seniors for their contributions to the program over the years.
This concludes the 2026 men's soccer season. The team finished 3-10-3 overall, with a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) record of 2-8-2, placing 10th in the conference. Updates in the offseason can be found on X and on Instagram @cucmsoccer and at
cucougars.com.
