MUNSTER, Ind. — The Chicago State men's soccer team won its first game of the 2022 season Friday night, a 4-2 drubbing of St. Thomas.
Danail Sergiev tallied hat trick as head coach Norris Howze picked up his first win as coach.
"I'm happy for the guys to get the win," Howze said. "This means a lot for our program. It's a process, and these wins will add up."
Sergiev scored his first of three goals at the 34th minute on a shot assisted by Niall Reid-Stephen, giving Chicago State a 1-0 lead at halftime.
He then scored on a header at the 54th minute on an assist by Ludovic Rocha to make it 2-0 Cougars.
On a corner-kick cross, Jose Ibarra made it 3-0 Chicago State 14 minutes later.
With Chicago State dominating possession and leading 3-0, Sergiev then added his third and final goal on a penalty kick with 20 minutes left, giving him the first Cougars hat trick of the season.
St. Thomas added two late goals, by McRay Drong and Max Hand, but the Cougars held firm for a 4-2 win.
The Cougars return to the pitch on Wednesday to take on Notre Dame in South Bend, a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.
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. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. 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, also making 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. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.
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