RIVER FOREST, Ill. – It's October, which means the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars are right in the heart of their seasons. Check out all the action below.
 
Women's Soccer (4-7-1, 3-2-1)
The Cougars went 1-1 in Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) play this week.
 
CUC picked up a strong 1-0 victory over Aurora University to start the week. The Cougars' played strong defensively, as goalkeeper Katelyn Wagner (Lagrange, Ky.) only had to make one save. On the other end of the field, Natalie Flores (Placentia, Calif.) scored the winning goal, off a fantastic ball into the box from Reagan Espinoza (Ventura, Calif.). Erika Flores (Oxnard, Calif.) contributed four shots, three of which were on goal.
 
The Cougars then traveled up to Wisconsin to face the Green Knights of St. Norbert College (SNC). Despite holding off the Green Knights in the first half, CUC fell to SNC, 5-0. Cadence Hamby (Cumming, Ga.) led the Cougars with two shots, one of which was on frame. Wagner defended the net, producing five saves.
 
This week, the Cougars only have one game. They host Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) on Wednesday, October 7. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm.
 
Men's Soccer (2-6-2, 1-4-1)
CUC men's soccer was on the road this week, facing Aurora and SNC.
 
The week started with a 6-0 loss to the Spartans of Aurora. Goalkeepers  Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) and Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) each spent a half in net. Gudiel made five saves and Zizak secured two. Alexander Barrera (Chicago, Ill.) recorded two shots.
 
A few days later, the Cougars held an intense battle with the Green Knights. CUC took an early lead, but a chaotic final 15 minutes saw the teams end the game in a 2-2 draw. Zizak recorded a career-high nine saves, defending the net. Victor Camacho (Chicago, Ill.) scored the Cougars' first half goal while Daniel Gutierrez (Chicago, Ill.) scored in the second half, assisted by Leonardo Pedraza (Waukegan, Ill.).
 
This week the Cougars only have one matchup. They will take on CUW up in Mequon, Wis. at 4:00 pm.
 
Women's Volleyball (6-8, 2-1)
Women's volleyball continued making its way through conference play.
 
CUC first traveled to Edgewood University and fell 3-0. Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.) led the Cougars with six kills and two blocks. Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.) also tallied six kills while adding two aces and one block. Beatriz Goncalves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) totaled nine assists and six digs while Bethany Roethel (Westby, Wis) led defensively with 12 digs whilst tacking on one ace and one assist.
 
The Cougars then came home to Geiseman Gymnasium and welcomed St. Norbert to River Forest. It was an intense five set battle, but CUC came out on top, 3-2. Foster and Day co-led the team with 17 kills each. Fostered added two blocks and two digs while Day also contributed two blocks and 11 digs. Rosemary Brenner (Frankenmuth, Mich.) led defensively with 24 digs, contributing one kill and two assists as well. Jessalyne Perkins (Chicago, Ill.) ended the day with eight kills, three blocks, and two digs.
 
CUC has a busy week with one conference match and then hosting the Maroon and Gold Tri. On Wednesday, October 7, the Cougars host Illinois Tech at 6:00 pm. Then on Saturday, October 10, Luther College and Saint Mary's College (Ind.) come to River Forest for non-conference matchups. CUC will play Luther at 11:00 am and Saint Mary's at 3:00 pm.
 
Cross Country
CUC headed up to West Allis, Wis. for the Steve Travis Invitational, hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC).
 
The men's team finished 5^th of 11 teams, with Gael Arroyo (Cicero, Ill.) leading the charge. Arroyo finished eighth with a time of 27:06.3. Julien Saltos (Chicago, Ill.) crossed the line next with a personal best time of 29:37.5.  Dominic Carlson (Loves Park, Ill.) ran across the finish line next with a time of 30:14.5. The fourth Cougar over the line was Cosby Lux (Landgrove, Vt.). Lux set a personal record time of 31:19.2. Law Sholten (Frankenmuth, Mich.) rounded out the top five with a time of 32:30.5.
 
The women's team also placed 5^th of 11 teams. Danielle Giovenco (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) led the CUC squad, finishing 26^th with a time of 26:13.5. Soon after, Lydia Becker (Valparaiso, Ind.) crossed the line with a personal best time of 26:33.7. The next two Cougars to finish were separated by less than a second. Rose Losey (Royal Oak, Mich.) ran a 27:19.4 while Sarah Redhage (Lowden, Iowa) set a personal best time of 27:20.1. Rounding out the top five, Addi McKee (Knoxville, Ill.) registered a personal record time of 28:59.0. Two more Cougars set personal records. Gabrielle Vitto (Chicago, Ill.) ran 31:36.2 and Mia Butler (Norridge, Ill.) clocked a time of 37:14.9.
 
CUC's next meet 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 (0-7, 0-3)
The Cougars played two non-conference matches this week.
 
They first took on Illinois College and dropped the match 7-0. At No. 3 doubles, Amelia Engelman (McKinney, Texas) and Sarah Gustafson (Merrill, Wis.) fought throughout the set but fell 6-1.  Engelman competed at No. 2 singles, battling through both sets before falling 6-0, 6-3. Amirah Shakir (Dekalb, Ill.) scored a point in each of her sets at No. 4 singles, but ultimately fell 6-1, 6-1.
 
CUC then picked up its first win of the season, defeating College of DuPage (COD), 4-3. The Cougars opened doubles competition with a strong performance at No. 3, where Brianna Bentz (Whitehall, Mich.) and Aura Cortez-Cali (Berwyn, Ill.) cruised to a 6-1 victory. While COD would take the doubles point, CUC responded in singles play. Engelman led the way at No. 2 singles with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory, while Shakir followed with a 6-0, 6-2 sweep at No. 3.  Abigail Krueger (Brookfield, Ill.) also picked up a win at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 6-1. Cortez-Cali picked up the fourth point for CUC defeating her opponent 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
 
This week the Cougars return to NACC action with three matches. On Tuesday, October 6, CUC travels up to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on WLC at 6:00 pm. Then on Friday, October 9, CUC hosts Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). First serve will be at 1:00 pm. The final match of the week will be on Saturday, October 10. The Cougars head up to De Pere, Wis. for a 12:30 pm match against SNC.
 
Football (3-1, 1-1)
CUC took on heavy hitter CUW. While the game remained close, the Cougars fell 21-14.
 
Quarterback Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) threw for 262 yards and one touchdown. Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) led on the ground, rushing for 86 yards, including a five-yard touchdown. In the air, Kevon Lawson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) made seven catches for 40 yards. Additionally, Wesley Jackson (Robinson, Ill.) hauled in four completions for 27 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown reception. On the other side of the ball, Kadin Stroer (Warrenton, Mo.) led the defense with five total tackles, two of which were solo. Recording an interception and recovering a fumble, Mikel Harris (St.Louis, Mo.) also had a huge defensive impact for the Cougars.
 
CUC remains on the road this as they head to Aurora University on Saturday, October 10. The game will begin at 1:00 pm.
 
Esports
Both the Smash team and Overwatch team competed this week.
The Smash team took on Waldorf University and fell 2-0. In game one, Giovanni Jaramillo (Stone Park, Ill.) led off, picking up two stocks from Waldorf before dropping his three. James Bruxvoort (Holland, Mich.) followed up and took two opponent stocks before dropping his own three. Luis Cortes (Maywood, Ill.) and Cameron Hall (Chicago, Ill.) each snagged one stock before CUC lost game one, 12-6. In game two, Hall lost all three of his stocks without picking up any of Waldorf's. Bruxvoort came in and took four stocks before losing his three. Jaramillo and Cortes each nabbed one stock each, but Waldorf ultimately took game two, 12-6.
 
CUC will play University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Tuesday, October 6, at 7:00 pm.
 
The Overwatch team competed against College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University Red and won 3-1. In game one, the Cougars were on Nepal. Myla Arganoza (River Grove, Ill.) shined in her debut, going 25-4-8, dealing 11k damage overall. It was a tight back-and-forth battle, but CUC took game one, 2-1. Jaramillo made his debut in Overwatch, going 13-42-9 with 17k healing done and racking up 42 assists. In game two, the Cougars picked Escort for the map. Again, the battle was intense, but CUC won in overtime. Connor Bleazard (Saint Joseph, Mo.) had a great performance on tank, going 48-5-9 and dealing 20k damage and blocking 18k damage. Ephraim Fisher (Yorkville, Ill.) also had an excellent game, going 54-11-11 with 18k damage dealt. In game three, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University Red pulled out all the stops on Route 66 to take the game and force a fourth game, even with Cortes going 8-20-8 with 17k healing. In game four, the Cougars took the teams to a map they were very comfortable with, Aatlis Flashpoint. Stellar coordination from the whole team led to a 3-1 game victory and an overall match victory of 3-1.
 
CUC will play Purdue Lime on Friday, October 9, at 7:00 pm.
 
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.