LOUISVILLE, KY — The Chicago State men's soccer team faced off against the Bellarmine University Knights Monday afternoon and suffered a 2-1 loss.
In the first half of the game, the Knights instantaneously pressed the Cougars which stunned them and forced them to defend early on.
It wasn't until the ninth minute of the game that the Knights' continuous attacks paid off as Nolan McGrath fired in a goal to gain a very early 1-0 lead.
Throughout the rest of the half, the Knights continued to attack the Chicago State racking up nine shots to the Cougars; two.
Nonetheless, the Cougars held off and defended brilliantly to sustain a 1-0 deficit going into halftime.
To start the second half, the Cougars came out very differently than in the first half and pressed the Knights back onto their own side of the field.
The constant pressing of the Cougars eventually broke through the Knights' defense and at the 66th minute, Jethro Yumange fired in a goal to tie it all up 1-1.
However, the Knights quickly stunned the Cougars as just 30 seconds after Yumange's goal, The Knights struck in a goal to retain the lead at 2-1.
Chicago State relentlessly attempted to at least gain a draw. However, the Knights defended well till the end and they took the win at 2-1.
The Cougars next face UIC on Friday at 7 p.m. on the road.
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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