The Dominican University men's soccer team dropped a 1-nil decision to the University of Chicago Maroons, ranked 18th in the NSCAA Division III men's soccer preseason poll, to open the 2015 season on Tuesday evening at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in Chicago.
 
"That was a very good team we played tonight," commented Dominican's head coach Erick Baumann. "With that said, we know we should have been better.  There's a lot to take away, learn from and work on after tonight's match."
 
The lone score came 25 minutes into the non-conference affair as Brenton Desai, the Maroons leading scorer from a year ago, got in behind the Dominican backline thanks to a through-ball played by Jorge Bilboa.  Desai was then able to pop the ball up and over the Stars' Gabriel Gongora (Naperville, Ill.) for his first tally of the season.
 
The Stars were outshot in the match, 11-5, putting three shots on frame compared to five shots on goal for the Maroons.  Gongora made three saves in the losing effort for Dominican while sophomore Jonathan Arzeta (Des Plaines, Ill.) came off the bench to log a team-high three shots for the Stars.
 
Dominican still leads the all-time series against Chicago, with the Stars' record at 6-4-2 in 12 all-time meetings between the perennial Central Region powerhouses.
 
The Stars return home to River Forest for their 2015 home opener on Saturday, September 5, for a non-conference tilt with the Olivet College Comets.  Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on West Campus Field.