“Winning is a skill, and you have to learn it.”
Those were Bradley head coach Tim Regan’s words after a crucial 5-0 victory over Chicago State.
The Braves entered their matchup at Shea Stadium coming off three straight draws. While that was a step forward from the nine losses they suffered last season, now was the time to start turning those ties into victories.
Bradley had a golden opportunity to get back in the win column against the Cougars. Heading into the matchup the Chicago State was winless and had conceded 28 goals through seven matches.
The 29th came in no time.
In the second minute of the game, the Braves won a free kick in the middle of the field, just past the kickoff circle. Midfielder Archie Heron sent the ball into the box in search of one of his teammates.
His pass found the head of fellow midfielder Connor Chester. Chester didn’t have a great angle to hit it towards goal himself, so he played the ball to the center of the box and found forward Mitch Coughlon.
Coughlon finished off the attack by heading the ball into the top corner of the net, scoring the first of what would be a five-goal onslaught by Bradley.
The Braves dominated the first half, racking up 18 shots by the break compared to the Cougars one.
Chicago State’s goalkeeper Jabullie Mooketsi did a great job to keep the Cougars in it, saving six consecutive shots on target to hold the game at 1-0 despite constant pressure at his net.
Finally, Bradley struck again late in the half.
With just under six minutes until the break, a cross from sophomore Fjölnir Sigurjónsson spilled out of Mooketsi’s hands to the feet of Chicago State defender Tomiwa Gbalajobi.
His clearance attempt didn’t get far, as it went right to Braves midfielder Kael Drummond.
Drummond, who was making his return after missing a month with injury, had an easy finish into an open net to double the Bradley lead.
That wouldn’t be it for the first half though as a counter attack with just a minute and a half remaining led to a third goal.
Coughlon got his second goal contribution of the day as he chipped a ball up to freshman forward Brayden Missey, who headed in his first collegiate goal to put the Braves 3-0 up entering the break.
“Some of the earlier chances just weren’t going our way,” Coughlon said. “Once the second and third rolled in, we knew we had some momentum and we started to get it going.”
Going into the locker room scoring two goals in the final six minutes, Coughlon acknowledged that they had to make sure not to lose their momentum.
“We’re not saying much going in other than to keep doing what we’re doing,” Coughlon said. “Just keep getting chances in front of goal and try to find a fourth goal and more.”
Bradley found their fourth 12 minutes into the second half.
After winning a corner, Heron got his second assist of the day as his cross from the flag found defender Anel Kafedzic, who headed the ball in for his second goal of the season.
After a dull period where the ball lived in the middle of the pitch, the Braves found their fifth goal with a few minutes to play as a cross into the box towards Chester deflected off a Cougar defender into the net for an own goal.
The result matches Bradley’s win total from last season as they look ahead to conference play and their matchup against Illinois-Chicago on Sept. 25.
Regan believes the team is trending in the right direction ahead of Missouri Valley play.
“It’s taken us some time, but today was a good day for understanding the little details that lead to winning.”
