RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Halloween weekend has passed, but Concordia University Chicago (CUC) athletics was in full swing. Check out how all our teams did as they closed out October.
 
Women's Soccer (6-12-1, 5-6-1)
CUC ended the regular season against Dominican University on Wednesday. The Cougars gave it their all but fell 3-0. Goalkeepers Katelyn Wagner (Lagrange, Ky.) and Reagan Christensen (Wetumpka, Ala.) showed out, as Wagner made 10 saves and Christensen made five. Luciana Morán Cruz (Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico) took the Cougars' lone shot.
 
Then on Saturday, the eighth seeded Cougars took on the top seed, Illinois Tech, for the quarterfinals in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) tournament. It was an intense battle, but the Cougars sadly fell 1-0, ending their season. Naomi Gonzales (Santa Rosa, Calif.) made 10 saves while Mia Hirayama (Mililani, Hawaii) recorded both of CUC's shots.
 
The women's soccer team finished the season with an overall record of 6-12-1 and a NACC record of 5-6-1.
 
Men's Soccer (3-10-3, 2-8-2)
CUC men's soccer ended its regular season against Dominican. The intensity was high all game as both teams pushed for the breakthrough, but the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Giovanni Flores (Chicago, Ill.) scored for the Cougars in the 58^th minute. Damian Navas (Chicago, Ill.) led the offense with four 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.) and Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) split time in goal. Zizak secured three saves while Gudiel grabbed four.
 
The Cougars finish the season with an overall record of 3-10-3 and NACC record of 2-8-2.
 
Women's Volleyball (8-16, 4-6)
Women's volleyball competed in two tough NACC matchups this week.
 
CUC opened the week against nationally ranked, #25 Aurora University. The Cougars ultimately fell 3-0. Indiah Day (Merrillville, Ind.) led the team with six kills, six digs, and one service ace. Neva Foster (Parker, Colo.) also added six kills. Ava Quevedo (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added three blocks while Rosemary Brenner (Frankenmuth, Mich.) totaled 15 digs, five assists, and one service ace.
 
The Cougars then came back home to Geiseman Gymnasium to host Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). The Cougars fought in all three sets but were swept by the Raiders. Day had an all-around match, leading the team with nine kills while also recording six digs. Brenner led defensively with 19 digs, along with three assists and one service ace. Beatriz Goncalves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) added five digs and 13 assists. Jessalyne Perkins (Chicago, Ill.) contributed seven kills, five blocks, and one service ace.
 
This week, CUC continues to push for a NACC playoffs spot as they round out the regular season. On Thursday, November 5, the Cougars host Dominican at 6:00 pm. The team then travels to Plymouth, Wis. to take on Lakeland University. First serve will be at 12:00 pm.
 
Cross Country
The Cougars competed at the NACC Championships in Batavia, Ill.
 
The men's team finished fifth of nine teams. Cougar frontrunner Gael Arroyo (Cicero, Ill.) led the team, finishing 19^th with a time of 27:27.7.  Nathaniel Boksa (Norridge, Ill.), Dominic Carlson (Loves Park, Ill.), Julien Saltos (Chicago, Ill.), and Cosby Lux (Landgrove, Vt.) round out the Cougars' top five. Lux set a personal best time of 30:29.3. One more Cougar secured a new personal record. Law Sholten (Frankenmuth, Mich.) ran a new PR of 31:22.9.
 
The women's team finished seventh of seven teams. Lydia Becker (Valparaiso, Ind.) led the team, finishing 34^th with a new personal best time of 26:28.0. Rose Losey (Royal Oak, Mich.), Sarah Redhage (Lowden, Iowa), Lydia Anderson (Carpentersville, Ill.), and Breanna Walters (Poplar Grove, Ill.) rounded out the top five.
 
The Cougars' next meet will be the DIII Midwest Regionals on Saturday, November 14. The meet will be at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill.
 
Football (5-3, 3-3)
The Cougars hit the road and secured a dominant 30-0 victory over Eureka College.
 
Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) ended the game with 188 passing yards, including four touchdown passes. Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) led on the ground with 149 rushing yards and a touchdown. LJ Lane (Pompano Beach, Fla.) led in receiving yards with 71 yards on two receptions. Korey Randle (East Moline, Ill.) added a 24-yard touchdown, Larnell Moore (Robbins, Ill.) recorded a two-yard touchdown, and Kevon Lawson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) secured a 10-yard touchdown. Defensively, Devean Shearer (Saint Charles, Ill.) led the team with 11 total tackles. Adam Lambaz (Elgin, Ill.), Brandon Shipp (Bolingbrook, Ill.), Tyrell Luther (Arcadia, Fla.) and Jahmari Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) all contributed defensively with a combined four sacks for the Cougars. Jackson also tallied a safety. Cayden Brown (Kalamazoo, Mich.) went four-for-four on extra point attempts.
 
CUC's next game will be Saturday, November 7. The Cougars will take on St. Norbert College on the road at 1:00 pm.
 
Women's Basketball (0-0, 0-0)
The women's basketball team opens their season this week. The Cougars hold their home opener on Friday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m. CUC will welcome Lake Forest College to Geiseman Gymnasium.
 
Men's Basketball (0-0, 0-0)
The men's basketball season opens this weekend in Dubuque, Iowa at the Loras College Tournament. On Saturday, November 7, CUC will play Bethel University at 7:00 pm. The following day, the Cougars will play the host, Loras College at 3:00 pm.
 
Esports
The Smash team played this week.
 
The Smash team won 2-1 over Illinois State University (ISU) White. In game one, Cameron Hall (Chicago, Ill.) was on Snake and lost a close matchup, taking two stocks before losing his three. Then, James Bruxvoort (Holland, Mich.) came in on Dark Pit and was able to take three stocks before losing his own three. Giovanni Jaramillo (Stone Park, Ill.) followed with Samus and got two stocks before losing his three. The Cougars' anchor, Luis Cortes (Maywood, Ill.) took three stocks before losing his final stock. The Cougars fell 12-11 in game one and trailed 1-0 in the series. Looking to bounce back in game two, Bruxvoort went first with Dark Pit and took five of ISU's stocks before losing all three of his. Then, Hall took another five stocks with Snake before losing his three. Cortes and Jaramillo rounded out the match, getting the Cougars the 12-11 victory and tying the series, 1-1. In the final game, the Cougars kept the momentum from game two with Jaramillo starting with Samus and taking seven stocks in a row before losing his three. Cortes took one of ISU's stocks before Hall grabbed the last four stocks to win 12-8. The Cougars took the series 2-1 and improve to 4-1 on the season. The Smash team will play Murray State Blue on Tuesday, November 3, at 7:00 p.m.
 
The Overwatch team will return to action on Friday, November 6 at 7:00 pm against University of Illinois Springfield.
 
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.