BRIDGEVIEW, Ill.— Making its Western Athletic Conference debut, the Chicago State men's soccer team took on the UTRGV Vaqueros on a cool Saturday afternoon and suffered a 2-0 loss with goals by Reshaun Walkes and Moiad Ankir.
"Today just wasn't our day," head coach Trevor Banks said. "We played well and had chances created but just couldn't find the back of the net. We will move on and prepare for our next two conference matches next weekend."
At the start of the first half, the Vaqueros and Cougars went all out at each other as they both switched the ball, interchanged runs, and overall kept the half very fast-paced.
However, with persistent defending by the Cougars and four astonishing saves by goalkeeper Joe Bowles, the game remained scoreless after the first 45 minutes.
Tensions rose increasingly as the second half commenced, as both teams continued on producing goal-scoring opportunities.
It wasn't until the 69th minute of the game that the Vaqueros opened up the scoring with a beautiful cross on the ground by Walkes which was then fired in by Ankir to give the Vaqueros a lead at 1-0.
Tensions continued high as the Cougars repeatedly tried to claw their way back into the game.
At the 87th minute of the game, the Vaqueros produced their second of score the game courtesy of a solo run finished fiercely by Walkes, who now had an assist and a goal.
The match ended with the Vaqueros taking a 2-0 victory over the Cougars.
The Cougars next face Air Force Academy on Oct 1 at 7:00 p.m. at SeatGeek Stadium's turf field.
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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