Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302 

Box Score

Oct. 28, 2017 – The North Central College women's soccer team was still able to celebrate seniors Emily Gaither and Sarah Gaither on Senior Day Saturday afternoon despite falling 2-0 to the No. 22 ranked Illinois Wesleyan University Titans.

North Central held its opponent scoreless in the first half, despite Illinois Wesleyan taking seven shots. The Cardinals put a great deal of emphasis on defense and clearing the ball, keeping eight players back to be prepared for any scoring attempts from the Titans.

It appeared both teams were more focused on keeping the other from scoring rather than making their own opportunities in the first 45 minutes of the match.
The second half started much like the first with neither team able to find any openings to goal. Looking to break the stalemate, Lexi Dimovski made her attempt to score with a shot in the 68th minute, but Titan goalkeeper Kelli McCarthy was there to make the save.

Dimovski would again try to get the Cardinals on the board in the 76th minute with a header, but missed just wide.

Unfortunately for North Central, it was Sydney Pinder who would strike for the Titans, scoring the match's first goal in the 81st minute and giving Illinois Wesleyan a 1-0 lead. Both teams reset for play to resume and after taking back control of the ball from the Cardinals, Jordan Ellerbrock capitalized on a mishandle from North Central goalkeeper Mollie Fisher, putting the ball into the back of the net off of a well-placed shot.

Illinois Wesleyan would take the lead with just under ten minutes remaining and ultimately hold steady for the win.

Dimovski's two shots were all the Cardinals could muster against the Titan defense. Illinois Wesleyan's Cassie Leishman led all players with four shots.
Fisher tallied a single-game high eight saves on 15 shots faced. The Cardinal defense, led by Allyson Viederis and Rachel Kolling, played an important role in clearing the ball.

The Cardinals, a young team that surprised many across the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) with its transformation from 2016, finished the season 8-8-1 overall and 4-4 in CCIW play.