RIVER FOREST, Ill. – It's finally starting to feel like fall here on the campus of Concordia University Chicago (CUC). The air is crisper, the hoodies are out, and CUC athletics continue to shine.
 
Women's Soccer (2-10-2, 2-4-1)
Women's soccer only had one game last week, facing Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW). Despite a hard-fought battle, the Cougars fell 3-0.

Two keepers saw time in the net for the Cougars with Brooke Sheriff (Simi Valley, Calif.) getting the start and Naomi Gonzales (Santa Rosa, Calif.) coming in for relief in the second half. Sheriff would close her stat line with six saves while Gonzales would close her stat line with five. Erika Flores (Oxnard, Calif.) led the offensive charge with four total shots, two of which were on goal.

This week, women's soccer will play two games at home this week. The Cougars will host Benedictine University on Wednesday, October 15, at 2:00 pm. Then, CUC will host Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) on Saturday, October 18, at 12:00 pm.
 
Men's Soccer (1-11-1, 0-7)
Men's soccer hosted CUW this week.

The Cougars mounted a comeback but fell just short, 2-1. The Cougars' only goal came from Caleb Kale (Moline, Ill.), along with having four attempted shots, similarly to Michael Senese (Naperville, Ill.), who also had four attempted shots. Nethan Gudiel (Chicago, Ill.) recorded seven saves against the Falcons.

The men's soccer team will play Benedictine on Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00 pm in Lisle, Ill. Then on Saturday, October 18, CUC will be home against WLC at 2:30 pm.
 
Women's Volleyball (5-13, 1-4)
The women's volleyball team competed against Illinois Institute of Technology and Alverno College.

Against Illinois Tech, the Cougars lost 3-1. Kate Foley (Milwaukee, Wis.) led the game with eight kills and 15 digs, followed closely by Lili Hunt (Greenfield, Ind.), who had seven kills and Harmonie Cooper (Chicago, Ill.), who had six kills. Bethany Roethel (Westby, Wis.) was not afraid to get low, recording 24 digs.

The Cougars got back in the win column on Saturday, taking down the Inferno of Alverno. Indiah Day  (Merrillville, Ind) led the offense with 18 kills while Hunt totaled 15 kills. Cooper led with six blocks, eight kills, and four aces. Isabel Valle (Chico, Calif.) had an outstanding record of 44 assists and 13 digs while Janelle White (Morton Grove, III.) was the CUC leader for 16 digs.

This week, the Cougars will be on the road for both matches. On Wednesday, October 15, CUC will play Benedictine at 7:00 pm. Then on Saturday, October 18, CUC will play WLC at 12:00 pm.
 
Cross Country
The Cougars will run at the 5^th Annual Interregional Invitational, hosted by Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. on Saturday, October 18.
 
Football (3-2, 1-2)
The Cougars will return to action on Saturday, October 18. CUC will play Rockford University on the road at 1:00 pm.
 
Women's Tennis (1-13, 1-7)
The women's tennis team rounded out its fall season with two Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) matches.

The Cougars competed in a tight battle with WLC, falling 5-2. Amelia Engelman (Mckinney, Texas) outbattled her opponent with ease, shutting out her opponent in two, 6-0 sets. Courtneye Schneider (Plainfield, Illinois) demonstrated hard work as she battled through three hard sets. She was able to win the second set, causing the match to go on to a third set but unfortunately fell short, 6-3, 6-4, 10-7. Amirah Shakir (Dekalb, Ill.) and Engelman won 6-2 in their doubles match, while Schneider and Arriyanna Amison (Dolton, Illinois) dominated their doubles match 6-1, which secured the point for the Cougars.

CUC ended its season on a high note, defeating Lakeland University, 5-2. Engelman and Shakir were a fantastic duo at first doubles, winning 6-2. Hannah Upole (Hickey, Ohio) and Sarah Gustafson (Merrill, Wis.)  played amazingly together as they went back-and-forth and came out on top, 6-4, at second doubles to take the doubles point for the Cougars. Kathleen Castillo (Elmwood Park, Ill.) fought hard during her No. 3 singles match, walking away from her first set a winner with a score of 6-2, and continuing to beat out her opponent with a sweep of 6-0. Upole picked up her first win of the season in a dominating 6-2 and 6-1 fashion. Amison also picked up her singles win of the season, even going to a tiebreaker in set two, pulling the 7-6 win. Schneider picked up her second win of the season with a final score of 6-3 in both sets.

The Cougars ended the fall with a 1-13 overall record and 1-7 in NACC play. CUC will return to the court in March to take on Saint Mary's University (Minn.).
 
Esports
Esports played two matches this week.

In Smash, the Cougars competed against UM-Flint Maize and fell 2-0. In game one, CUC fell 12-10. James Bruxvoort (Holland, Mich.) took nine of UM-Flint's stocks before their team captain swept the Cougars' stock to take game one. In game two, Chrisovalanti Charisis  got his first game win of the season to start off game two, 3-2. However, despite good battles from the Cougars, they were unable to take the game, falling 12-8. UM-Flint took the match 2-0. CUC is now 0-3 on the season. The next match will be Tuesday, October 14, at 6:00 pm. The Cougars will play ACC Lumberjacks.

In Overwatch, CUC went up against Waldorf University and fell 3-0. The Cougars took round one of game one but dropped rounds two and three to lose, 2-1, despite stellar play from Damian Avalos (Chicago, Ill.) and Julia Pataluna (Commerce City, Colo.). In game two, CUC held Waldorf to just one point on Rialto but were unable to match Waldorf's record and fell 1-0. Connor Bleazard (Saint Joseph, Mo.) held the line on tank in that game. For game three, it was a back-and-forth battle on Flashpoint, but CUC lost 3-1. The Cougars are now 1-2 on the season. The next match will be Friday, October 17 at 7:00 pm. CUC will play Blugold Esports Varsity.

You can keep up with all things CUC Athletics on Twitter @CUChicagoSports, watch all the action at cucougars.com/coverage, and view all photos from the seasons here.