(Sugar Grove, IL) – The men's soccer match between Waubonsee Community College and the College of DuPage came down to whoever made a mistake. It turned out to be the Chiefs (1-3) as the visiting Chaparrals (1-1-2) pulled out a 3-1 victory on a sunny, 90-degree Saturday afternoon. In an intense battle that saw six yellow cards handed out, three for each side, DuPage was able to take advantage of Waubonsee's aggressiveness catching the Chiefs' defenders over playing the ball in a couple key moments that resulted in goals.

The visiting Chaparrals had a golden opportunity to score in the second minute of the game when Chiefs' keeper David Ramirez came out from the net and momentarily found himself in a bad position. However, defender Benedicte Ndijibu made a sliding save to deflect a potential DuPage score. The teams battled back and forth at a frenetic pace during much of the first half. It the 15^th minute Ndijibu made another stellar defensive play to thwart another potential goal-scoring shot by the Chaparrals. 

In the 25^th minute a foul on DuPage gave the Chiefs a free kick from 22 yards out. The ensuing low, line drive shot by Waubonsee's Samuel Camacho was corralled by Chaparrals' keeper Sam Negus to keep the match scoreless. Five minutes later Ramirez made a similar save on a free kick by DuPage. The match remained scoreless heading into the intermission with both teams having four direct shots on goal and four saves defensively.

The Chaparrals broke the deadlock in the 54^th minute when Archie Murphy headed a centering pass into the left side of the net and beyond the reach of Ramirez from five yards away. DuPage then tallied a big insurance goal a minute later when Murphy popped a shot over Ramirez as the Chiefs' keeper came out away from the goal. The ball eluded Ramirez' reach, landing outside the goal line and bouncing up high, nestling into the net just under the crossbar for a 2-0 DuPage lead.

With over 30 minutes of regulation play still remaining Waubonsee head coach Brett Suhayda looked to get some fresh legs onto the pitch by inserting Dawid Szeliga and William Mortenson into the lineup. It paid dividends in the 65^th minute when Eric Anderson blasted a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net from 10 yards out for his third goal of the young season, pulling the Chiefs within one score.   

After an unscheduled water break for both teams in the 68^th minute, the rejuvenated Chaparrals had two shots go wide of the goal over the next 45 seconds of play. Each team substituted often over the final 30 minutes of 'heated' action as several players suffered leg cramps on both sides in the second half. The Chaparrals then tacked on a decisive third score in the 78^th minute as Murphy completed a 'hat trick' with his third goal of the day. The freshman rocketed a shot into the left corner of the net past Ramirez, who aggressively came out from the goal to attempt to cut down the shooting angle for the approaching Murphy.

The key insurance goal seemed to take the wind out of the Chiefs' sails as DuPage salted away the final 12 minutes to secure the non-conference win. Waubonsee is set to play again next Thursday, September 7 in Des Plaines against Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference foe Oakton Community College. Kickoff between the Chiefs and Owls is set for 4:00 p.m.