(Sugar Grove, IL) – After Waubonsee Community College's women's soccer team dispatched Joliet Junior College 4-0, the men's teams took the field on a warm and windy Saturday afternoon. Coach Brett Suhayda's Chiefs (5-5-1) went toe-to-toe with the Wolves (7-4) in an action-packed match, pulling out a 2-1 victory in the final minutes. A fantastic header by Leo Renteria in the 84^th minute off a free kick was the difference in the tightly contested match and capped off the day's soccer doubleheader.

The Chiefs, with the wind at their backs in the first half, were able to put some pressure on the Wolves' defense. Waubonsee had a near miss in the opening minutes and a corner kick in the sixth minute that sailed just past the far post. Joliet then began to get the upper hand midway through the first half. However, the Wolves were unable to capitalize on back-to-back corner kick opportunities. In the 23^rd minute the Chiefs' Salvador Martinez Jr. got ahead of the Wolves defense and ripped off a left-footed shot from 20 yards out that sailed just over the top of the crossbar.  

The visitors, with eight international student-athletes on their roster, broke through first. Mahmood Shehada made a move around Chiefs' keeper Abrahim Tiburcio as he raced out from the net. The forward from Tulkham, Palestine, then calmly poked the ball into the net just before Waubonsee defender Lola Ramadhan could knock it away. However, five minutes later Mauro Munoz evened things up when he controlled a pass from the left side and drilled a shot past Joliet keeper Ivan Escatel into the upper right shelf from 10 yards out. Tiburcio then made a diving save in the 32^nd minute to keep the match deadlocked at one. Waubonsee narrowly took the lead two minutes later when Jayden Patino headed a long pass across the mouth of the goal. The ball was then redirected by another Chiefs' player in traffic with his shot going off the post and bounding away. Both keepers made stops after that as the half ended in a one-all tie.

Fast paced action marked the start of the second half with both teams turning back shots by the other. Waubonsee almost broke through off a corner kick, but Escatel made a leaping grab in traffic to keep the match tied. Angel Moreno, who took over in goal for Waubonsee after halftime, punched away a corner kick shot by Joliet midway through the half as the intensity ramped up. The Chiefs' keeper made a diving stop a few minutes later as the match went into the final twenty minutes of play. A red card foul in the 72^nd minute on Waubonsee's Samuel Camacho gave Joliet a free kick from 25 yards out. However, the shot by Adrain Gonzalez Martin, a native of Malaga, Spain, sailed high over the crossbar. 

Playing a man down for the final 18 minutes, Waubonsee's defense stepped up to the challenge. A header by Bayreuth, Germany native Linus Graetz was corralled by Moreno in the 79^th minute as the intense match remained knotted up at one. A foul on Joliet then gave the Chiefs a free kick from 25 yards out on the right side with six minutes left on the clock. Martinez then delivered a perfect free kick to the far side that Renteria leaped up high and headed into the left corner of the net out of the reach of a diving Escatel.

Joliet made a frantic push over the final five minutes to try and tie the game. A pivotal offsides penalty on the Wolves with two and a half minutes to go denied the visitors of a potential game-tying chance. The Chiefs were able to turn back Joliet from there to close out the thrilling victory. For the game Joliet outshot Waubonsee 17-10 and owned an 11-5 edge in shots on goal. Tiburcio was credited with four saves and Moreno recorded six saves for the Chiefs. Waubonsee is in action again this coming Tuesday, October 8 when they welcome Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference foe Morton College to Sugar Grove. The match between the Chiefs (5-5-1, 1-3-1) and Panthers (5-5-2, 2-3) is set to begin at 4:00 p.m.