(Sugar Grove, IL.) – On a perfect weather day Waubonsee Community College's Men's Soccer team opened the 2024 season with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Kennedy-King College from Chicago. The Chiefs (1-0) controlled much of the action, out shooting the Statesmen (0-1) 25-6 overall, including a 13-3 advantage in shots on goal. However, Waubonsee was unable to pull away making for a somewhat tenuous and intense season opener.
The Chiefs had three scoring opportunities over a five-minute span midway through the first half. In the 17th minute Jayden Patino broke ahead of the Kennedy-King defense and fired a shot that went just wide of the right post. The Chiefs had two more shots shortly thereafter that sailed over the cross bar. In the 25th minute Hernan Medina launched a shot from 10 yards away that was snagged by the Statesmen's keeper Joel Rodriguez. A minute later Waubonsee keeper Angel Moreno made a similar diving stop off a header in front of the Chiefs' goal to keep the match scoreless. A foul on the Statesmen gave Waubonsee a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, but Kennedy-King's Rodriguez made a diving stop on Mauro Munoz's shot to the left corner.
Waubonsee finally broke through in the 40th minute when Luke Rader navigated through the Kennedy-King defense and was just about to fire a shot when Rodriguez thwarted his attempt. However, as they both went to the ground the ball remained loose and Christ Keleba quickly poked a shot into the back of the net from point blank range for a 1-0 lead. The Chiefs dominated much of the first half action holding a 12-2 lead in shots and a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The Statesmen managed a couple of shots early in the second half. But Abrahm Tiburcio, who went into goal for the Chiefs to start the period, corralled both of them to keep Waubonsee in front. Patino had another breakaway chance in the 69th minute but his shot went wide of the left post this time. The Chiefs still clung to a narrow one goal lead as the match went into the final 20 minutes of play. Kennedy-King got off a shot in the 85th minute that a leaping Tiburcio easily grabbed to preserve Waubonsee's lead. The Chiefs almost added a huge insurance goal in the 88th minute as Munoz blasted a shot from the right side that smacked off the right post keeping it a one score match. An off-side penalty against the Statesmen in the final minute prevented the visitors from potentially getting off a game-tying shot. Rodriguez finished the match with a dozen saves, while Moreno registered one save and Tiburcio had two.
Waubonsee is in action again on Tuesday, August 27 when they travel to the College of Lake County in north suburban Grayslake. The Chiefs play two more road matches after that before returning home to host Kishwaukee College on Saturday, September 7 with a 2:30 p.m. kick-off.