The last game of the regular season for the College of DuPage men’s soccer team was supposed to be all about honoring the team’s sophomore players. But on the field, it was all Prairie State as the Chaps fell 3-0.

Prairie State (18-3) came into the match nationally ranked and recognized for their recently earned NJCAA championships within the last couple of years.

With 24 minutes left in the first half, a defensive breakdown by the COD backline allowed Prairie State to score the first goal of the game. Two minutes later, a header into the box allowed another Prairie State player to head the ball into the goal creating a  2-0 hole for the Chaps going into halftime. They never found a way to climb out. With two minutes left in the match, Prairie State put the nail in the coffin with a goal to make it a 3-0 loss for the Chaps’ on sophomore night.

“I’m proud of how we played today even though the result isn’t what we wanted,” said Zac Ludwig. “We kept knocking on the door against a nationally ranked team and thought we did a lot of positive things. This [sophomore class] is a good group of players, and we have had a couple for three years since they redshirted [here]. We have seen improvement by all of them in different times and have all left their mark in a positive way for the program.”

The Chaps only finished with three shots on goal and struggled to find their offensive rhythm due to Prairie State’s impressive ability to maintain possession and limit COD’s counterattack opportunities.

Despite the loss, a couple of Chaps reflected on their JUCO journey and how becoming a Chaparral improved them as a person and a player.

Sam Negus out of Reading, England finished the season with 105 saves and a .719 save percentage. Negus has attended COD for two years and plans on transferring to continue his athletic journey at a four-year institution. 

“In that second half, we can be proud of the way we played,” said Negus. “[Prairie State] has won nationally within the last three years, so I thought we frustrated them and gave them a good game. [My time at COD] has really matured me as a player and person. This season, I stepped up in the leadership role and took people under my wing. I had to lead by example, and I got what I wanted from [my time at COD].”

Alexin Hernandez spent three seasons with the Chaps after a season-ending broken-collarbone injury took away one of his two expected seasons at COD. Hernandez finished the season with 6 goals and 1 assist.

“I was out all last season, and I was pretty devastated,” said Hernandez. “This season I enjoyed the group of guys we had, and this group is really friendly, so we became a family instantly. The first [Prairie State] goal was a little unfortunate goal but in the [second half], we held them off and had a couple shots. It’s depressing we finished the season on a loss, but I’m grateful for this experience.”

Erwin Morales finished this season with one goal and an assist. During his first year at COD, Morales finished with three goals with four assists.

“Last season, we had a whole different team, and this group has definitely shaped me as a person,” said Morales. “I feel like we trained much harder [this season] and had a better routine. Overall, it felt like a different atmosphere, and everything felt different this year.”

Emiliano Lagunas played all 17 matches during the regular season for the Chaps. Lagunas joined the men’s program as a walk-on tryout and didn’t fully plan on becoming a member of the team. He was uncertain whether he would even earn a spot.

“When I came in, I was a [walk-on] tryout, so I kind of had to work my way into the lineup,” said Lagunas. “[Alexin] has always been the little rock that has always kept the team together and it was just easy to become friends with everyone. I really liked playing with them, practicing, [traveling] for away games, it was so fun and helped me stay consistent with balancing out doing my homework and playing games. I would tell future walk-on players to take that leap of faith even though nothing is for certain. Just don’t be afraid to prove yourself.”

The Chaparrals finished the season with a 6-10-1 record. To learn more about the program, visit https://gochapsgo.com/sports/mens-soccer. The Chaparrals will wait for their Region 4 opponent for the Region 4 tournament. The Region 4 tournament begins on Oct. 31.