By Sebastian Montoya, Athletic Communications Intern
On Thursday night, the Chicago State men's soccer team (1-0) kicked off their 2021-22 campaign with a bang.
Under the lights at SeatGeek stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, facing the Big Ten's Northwestern Wildcats (0-1), the Cougars came away with a 2-1 win in an action-packed season opener.
"We're super happy with our group," head coach Trevor Banks said. "A lot of energy from our group. It's exciting and great, even though we were a bit depleted. It means a lot, my first real win as a head coach. To beat a Big Ten team on opening night is super exciting."
In the first half, the Cougars came in firing on all cylinders and bagged their first goal of the season in just the fifth minute of the game on a clean goal by
Enrique Zamora on a beautiful cross assist by freshman forward
Emmanuel Apau.
The score gave the Cougars the lead, which held up until the 31st minute, when Northwestern fired in their first goal of the season on a header from Rom Brown, assisted by Vicente Castro.
The first half ended tied at one, thanks to stout defense and sturdy goalkeeping from Joe Bowels.
To start off the second half, the Cougars and Wildcats each produced numerous chances, with several close calls for both squads.
It wasn't until the 88th minute of the game when the Cougars pushed forward, forcing a run by
Jethro Yumange in which he was taken down inside the penalty area, producing a penalty kick opportunity. Captain
Calwayne Allen drove through a score to the bottom-left part of the net, sealing the victory for the Cougars in a thrilling first game of the season.
Fresh off the first win of 2021, the Cougars next battle Detroit-Mercy at noon on Sunday.
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.Â
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