(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Waubonsee Community College's Men's Soccer team hosted Moraine Valley Community College in their 2025 home opener on Tuesday afternoon. The Chiefs took an early lead and held on to down the Cyclones 2-1 in the initial Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) match for both teams. Waubonsee (2-0, 1-0) opened the season this past Saturday with a 1-0 win at Illinois Valley Community College with Aurora West High School product Chris Leon tallying the lone score of the match in the second half. The Cyclones (0-2, 0-1) dropped their season opener at Kankakee Community College losing to the Cavaliers 4-1.

Waubonsee got the upper hand in the early going on the way to scratching out the ISCC victory. In the 17^th minute Waubonsee's Jayden Patino had a pair of scoring opportunities turned back by Moraine Valley keeper Giovanni Gonzalez. A short time later the Chiefs broke out in front as Asbel Vazquez veered left around a Cyclones' defender and blasted a crossing shot past Gonzalez for the first score of the match. Two minutes later Patino again got ahead of the Cyclones' defense and chipped a shot up and over Gonzalez as he came out from the net. The ball just cleared the keeper's outstretch arms to give the Chiefs a quick 2-0 lead.

A fantastic diving stop by Chiefs' keeper Adrian Chavez in the 33^rd minute kept the Cyclones off the scoreboard. Five minutes later though the visitors got on the board when a long pass took a high bounce and bounded off Chavez' hands right to a Moraine Valley player, who tapped the ball into the back of the net. The Cyclones had a chance to pull even with a minute left in the first half, but Chavez snagged a point-blank shot to keep the score 2-1. 

Waubonsee nearly booked a third goal in the opening minutes of the second half. Patino raced ahead of the pack a delivered a crossing pass from the right side to the far side of the box. However, the ensuing shot by the Chiefs' Noe Parra went just wide of the right post. Meanwhile, Waubonsee's defense of Benjamin Sobecki, Jesus Posada, Luke Rader, Caleb Philips, Jostin Zombrano and Lance Pasakarnis continued to keep the Cyclones at bay. The Chiefs clung to their slim lead as the match headed into the 80^th minute. Two minutes later Chavez made another outstanding save, his seventh of the match, lunging to his right to preserve the lead. The pace picked up in the final minutes as the Cyclones desperately tried to knot the score to no avail. 

For the match the Chiefs narrowly out shot Moraine Valley 13-11 and 9-8 in shots on goal. Chavez was credited with eight saves, while Gonzalez registered seven saves for the Cyclones. Waubonsee is in action again this coming Saturday, August 30, when they host Rock Valley College at 11:00 a.m. Waubonsee's women are also set to square off against the Golden Eagles with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff that day.