RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's soccer season is right around the corner. Catch up on last season's action and what the squad has coming up this fall.
 
Last Season
The Cougars finished 1-15-2 overall and 0-11-1 in Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) play last season.
 
The season kicked off with a string of five home games, beginning August 30. The Cougars welcomed Lawrence University to River Forest and after a 77^th minute goal by Giovanni Velasquez (Cicero, Ill.), the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Two days later, the Cougars defended their home turf with a dominant 6-2 victory over Andrews University. Unfortunately, the next three matches against Blackburn College, Caltech, and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) ended in defeat. The Cougars took to the road on September 13 for one final non-conference matchup against Eureka College and fell 3-0.
 
On September 17, NACC play began against Rockford University. The Cougars started hot in an intense 90-minute battle, but the Regents would end up taking the game, 4-3. Concordia continued to battle in the last few matches of September but ultimately dropped all three games to Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), 6-0, Illinois Tech, 3-1, and Lakeland University, 5-2. Despite the results, the Cougars had two goalkeepers pick up career-high saves.  Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) recorded a career-high six saves, playing the full 90 minutes against the Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech, while Kyle Schultz (Pingree, Ill.)  nabbed a career-high 11 saves against the Muskies of Lakeland.
 
 Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) continued the career-high saves streak for goalkeepers, amassing 16 saves in the 3-0 loss to Aurora University on October 1. The Cougars continued to be stuck in a rut, falling to St. Norbert College (SNC) and Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW). However, the Cougars' grit finally persevered on October 15, as CUC tallied its first point in NACC play. An important penalty kick save from Gudiel led to a 0-0 draw with Benedictine University.
 
Unfortunately, CUC couldn't build on the momentum and dropped its final four matches of the season to Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC), Edgewood University, Marian University, and Dominican University.
 
Coach Brennan
The Cougars enter a new era this season under the direction of newly appointed head coach, Graham Brennan. He brings more than 25 years of coaching experience, a proven record of competitive success, and deep ties to Chicagoland collegiate and elite soccer. Most recently, Brennan served on the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer staff for the past six seasons. "I'm very excited to get started after a quick six months of getting to know the returning student-athletes in the spring and recruiting a large class for 2026," said Coach Brennan. "We'll look to approach every day and training session with a growth mindset and build upon what we worked on the previous day. With a positive outlook and focus on the journey, we will improve the team collectively and individually to maximize the talents of the team."
 
Returning Players
The Cougars will look to several key returning players to lead the squad this upcoming season.
 
Junior goalkeepers  Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) and Chase Zizak (Muskegon, Mich.) will be critical leaders in the backfield, with Gudiel recording a team-high save percentage of .692 with 83 saves last season. Zizak recorded a save percentage of .619.
 
Defensively, junior Daniel Gutierrez (Chicago, Ill.) will be a key contributor, having made a big impact on the backline last season, consistently denying opponents opportunities.
 
Offensively, junior Roman Klozik (New Lenox, Ill.) looks to get the Cougars prime scoring opportunities, having each scored a goal last season.
 
New Faces
CUC welcomes a wave of talented new players including Evan Miranda (Chicago, Ill.), Juan Avalos (Chicago, Ill.), Leonardo Pedraza (Waukegan, Ill.), Alberto Sanchez (Chicago, Ill.), Ronald Bardales (Zion, Ill.), Victor Camacho (Chicago, Ill.), Damian Navas (Chicago, Ill.), Giovanni Flores (Chicago, Ill.), Javier Marchan-Salgado (Chicago, Ill.), Alexander Barrera (Chicago, Ill.), Salvatore Scaletta (Norridge, Ill.), Adrian Adame (Cicero, Ill.), Sergio Barragan Jr. (Cicero, Ill.), Jonathan Gonzalez (Maywood, Ill.), Benjamin Ramirez (Plainfield, Ill.), Armin Kaltak (Norridge, Ill.), Pierre Balderas (Tlaxcala, Mexico), Elvin Lorenzo (Wheeling, Ill.), and Eric Morales (Chicago, Ill.).
 
"The incoming class has a wide range of experience and backgrounds," Coach Brennan noted. "There is a lot of talent in the group. Once they're adjusted to college life, they'll have the confidence and focus when it comes to their soccer."
 
A Look Ahead
The season starts on September 2, as CUC welcomes Eureka to River Forest. Three days later, the maroon and gold continue to defend their home turf against Hope College. A pair of road matches close out the non-conference slate, with the Cougars taking on Augustana College and Governors State University on September 8 and 12, respectively.
 
NACC play kicks off at Concordia Stadium on September 16 against Rockford. The Cougars take a quick trip up to Wisconsin on September 19 to take on MSOE before coming back to River Forest for two games. CUC will host Illinois Tech on September 23 and Lakeland on September 26.
 
Starting September 30, it's a three-game long road slate against Aurora, St. Norbert, and CUW. The Cougars make a quick return to River Forest to host Benedictine on October 14 before heading back out to Wisconsin to face WLC and Edgewood on October 17 and 21, respectively.
 
The final stretch of the regular season will be played at home. The Sabres of Marian come to town on October 25 before the season finale against Dominican on October 28.
 
The outcomes of the regular season will determine placement in the postseason NACC tournament which will take place starting November 1.
 
Coach Brennan had this to say about the upcoming season. "Our main goal is to establish our culture and our way of operating on and off the field.  With the majority of the roster being new, we have a blank canvas to establish a new identity and allow that to grow over time.  On the field, we will compete and expect to win, but we will focus on one game at a time. Everyone on staff and within the team are eager to get started with training and playing games. Every season has endless possibilities, and we just want to push to reach our best potential and enjoy the journey along the way."
 
The men's soccer 2026 season will begin on Wednesday, September 2. The Cougars host Eureka at 2:00 pm at Concordia Stadium. Coverage for the game as well as anything related to Concordia men's soccer can be found at cucougars.com.