SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Chicago State men's soccer team (2-9-2, 0-5-1 WAC) fell, 2-0, Saturday night against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals.
"It was a tale of two halves," head coach Trevor Banks said. "I felt as if we had the better first half, but they came out a bit harder the second half. We left a few opportunities on the field in the first and got punished for it in the second.
"It's tough to play these road matches in the WAC week in and week out, but I'm proud of this team for the fight they showed throughout the whole match. We have two tough home matches this week, which we will focus on from here out."
To start off the half, each team came out with a ferocity to score from the first whistle, which led to various goal-scoring opportunities for both. However, thanks to two stellar saves by goalkeeper Joe Bowles and hardworking defending by Chicago State's back line, the match remained scoreless heading into halftime.
In the second half, the Cardinals broke through against the Cougars at the 58th minute of the second half, opening the scoring with a finish by Eduardo Perez, which was assisted by Dylan Navarijo.
The Cougars relentlessly attempted to tie the game, nonetheless just 10 minutes after their first goal, the Cardinals once again fired in another once again by Perez, his second goal of the match, which was assisted by Wilmar Aguilar.
Chicago State fought till the last whistle but ultimately fell short as the Cardinals cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win.
The Cougars next face Utah Valley at SeatGeek Field on October 22.
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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