BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago State women's soccer team (1-11-1, 1-5 WAC) took home its first win of the season, and the first conference win in program history in a thrilling 1-0 game against the Abilene Christian University Wildcats.
"This means everything," head coach Cristiano Costa said. "The energy the girls left on the field today, the desire to win ... I'll never forget this day, because they work hard and deserve this. I'm very, very proud of them.
"We just have to believe, and we understand that."
In the first half of the match, the Cougars came out alive, looking for redemption after a 9-1 loss in their previous match. And opportunity struck at the 26th minute of the match, as the Cougars fired in the only goal of the day with a ferocious finish by Jayla Gage, her third goal of the season, after a stellar through ball by Mary Aguirre.
The rest of the match consisted of the Wildcats playing catch-up,as in the second half of the match at the 81st minute, Abilene Christian saw a glimpse of a possible game-tying goal as they were awarded a penalty kick.
Nonetheless, freshmen goalkeeper Alexa Seiler saved the penalty with a beautiful dive and kept the Cougars ahead with just 10 minutes left.
Chicago State managed to hold on through to the final whistle and celebrated their first win of the season with a 1-0 score. The win marked the program's first since 2017.
The Cougars next face Stephen F. Austin State University on Friday, October 22 at 2 p.m. at SeatGeek Stadium.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet.
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