Des Plaines man dies during college soccer practice

A Robert Morris University student collapsed and died during a soccer practice Wednesday evening, according to a university official.

Jesus Lupian, 19, of Des Plaines collapsed around 6:18 p.m. while playing soccer at a University of Illinois in Chicago field in the 1800 block of West Roosevelt Road that is rented by Robert Morris University, officials said.

Madlene Kruger, provost for Robert Morris University, said Lupian was transported to the University of Illinois Medical Center. She did not know when or where he was pronounced dead, or a cause for his death.

Lupian, an accounting student who attended classes at the university’s downtown Chicago campus, recently passed a sports physical, Kruger said. He graduated from Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and was entering his sophomore year at the university.

“My understanding is this was a student that everybody really liked,” Kruger said, adding that people who knew Lupian described him as a “very helpful, happy person.”

Grief counselors are on hand at the downtown campus today, Kruger said, adding that at least a dozen students have already sought counseling.

“Everyone I’ve talked to is devastated,” Kruger said. “He just sounds like a really great kid, a good student.”