Cougars Drop 2-1 Decision to Michigan in Men's Soccer

The Chicago State men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to the Michigan Wolverines Monday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the U-M Soccer Stadium. The match was the first between the Cougars and Wolverines and both entered the contest with identical 2-2-1 records. Michigan scored once in the first half then again three minutes into the second while Enrique Zamora scored CSU's lone goal in the final minute of the game for the 2-1 final.

"We're driving out of Michigan with our heads held high," Cougars head coach Trevor Banks said. "I love going to battle with this group and that's what this match was, a battle from start to finish. Michigan came out firing and we didn't do well at the start of both halves, handling it, but as the halves went on we regrouped and continued to find our moments and we fought. We will take our lessons from this one and move on as we prepare for NIU and conference play next week."
 
The Wolverines came out playing playing aggressively offensively and the Cougars were forced to defend. In the 20th minute of the game, Michigan produced an opportunity and opened up the scoring with a swift finish by Kevin Buca, assisted by Quin Rogers for a 1-0 lead. 
 
Cougars goalkeeper Joe Bowels kept CSU in the game with two first-half saves while the Wolverines dominated the shot column 8-0 in the first 45 minutes.

In the second half, the Wolverines once again came out attacking on all thirds of the field, and, in just the third minute of the half, the Wolverines converted another goal to extend the Michigan lead to 2-0.

In the last minute of the game, the Cougars scored their first goal of the match with a splendid finish by Enrique Zamora, his third of the season, yet it wasn't enough and the Cougars lost 2-1.
 
Next up for the Cougars will be a home match against NIU at the SeatGeek Turf Field on Tuesday, September 21 at 7 p.m.

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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