Contact: Elliott Carr, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

Oct. 8, 2016 – In a back-and-forth College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) matchup, the North Central College women's soccer team were defeated 1-0 by the Millikin University Big Blue on Saturday afternoon, at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

North Central started off the match in positive fashion, as they had several scoring opportunities early. Just three minutes into the game, freshman midfielder Nicole Novak sent a ball just over the top of the crossbar, followed by senior midfielder Jessica DeJong a minute later having a shot saved.

The early onslaught continued, as sophomore midfielder Julia Salzano had a header go wide in the tenth minute, and senior forward Taylor Markanich sent a shot just right of the goalpost.

The two teams would play the half to a stalemate, going into halftime tied 0-0.

Half number two began much like the first, with the Cardinals putting pressure on the Big Blue defense with a flurry of shots. Just a minute and a half into the half, DeJong missed left, while Salzano had a header that looked sure to result in a goal, but ended up hitting the crossbar in the 47^th minute.

It wasn't until the 62^nd minute that Millikin would score, with freshman forward Emily Ratchford giving the Big Blue a 1-0 lead.

Despite the deficit, the Cardinals played with determination and were unlucky not to level the score and send the game into overtime or give them the lead. Markanich had a header in the 89^th minute, followed by a shot from freshman forward Catherine Kent in the 90^th minute which were both highly unlucky not to result in goals.

North Central looks to secure their third CCIW win of the season Wednesday night, when they face Augustana at 5:00 pm. Live stats can be found HERE