Contact: Ashleigh Jones, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
Oct. 3, 2017- Emotions were high throughout the entirety of the North Central men's soccer game in its 3-0 victory over Elmhurst College this evening. With its second College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) win for the season, the Cardinals improved its record to 5-5-1 overall and 2-0 for conference play.
Inspired by its win over Carthage College on September 30, North Central played with confidence and level heads as the Bluejays sought to get under its skin to can an advantage on the Cardinals home turf.
With the Cardinals changing up its starting lineup slightly it was clear that no matter the starters, the depth and energy of the team could hold its own against teams as successful as Elmhurst.
By gaining possession of the ball early and setting the pace of the game North Central strategically played the ball away from Elmhurst's top player Zach Clements. In doing so frustration mounted amongst the Elmhurst offense, leading to sloppy passes that they would ultimately regret.
An intercepted pass by Sean Sweeney led to a sharp boot to Gavin Sanchez into the Bluejays backfield at the 21st minute. With his speed and eagerness to score Sanchez reaches the well-timed pass by Sweeney just before he is tripped up by an Elmhurst defensemen.
Unable to recover quickly enough Elmhurst thinking they stopped the chance on goal were mistaken, for the sheer momentum of Sanchez's play on the ball resulted in his third goal of the season and a 1-0 lead for the Cardinals.
Though ahead early in the game, North Central fought the rest of the first half to keep the ball no further than midfield to offer more scoring opportunities. Following the Cardinals goal, play became chipper between the two teams.
Though the Cardinals had control of the game and continued to create solid looks on goal, it was unable to connect, leaving North Central with just one goal lead to enter the second half.
The Cardinals came back from half with the same energy that coursed through them in the second half. Within the first nine minutes of play, three shots on goal were made by Alexis Flores and Sanchez.
With time ticking down and Elmhurst's inability to dismantle the defensive wall of Jared Collier, Spencer Wiese, Clint Rader and Sean Sweeney, North Central continued to push the ball through midfield to Sean Woodford and its midfielders who would then send it to forwards Ryan O'Deen, Flores, and Sanchez to extend the Cardinals lead.
Due to North Central's persistence to get the ball up the field and create less work for its goalkeeper Connor O'Neill, at the 85th-minute mark, Sanchez earns his second goal of the evening thanks to an assist by Woodford. With the Elmhurst goalie box congested with both teams, Woodford's pass allowed Sanchez to tap it just past the goalkeeper's head and into the goal.
Flustered by this late second goal Elmhurst has little time to adjust and allows their emotions to get the best of them. Their frustration of being down then led to a penalty kick just outside the goalie box.
With Jon Borzick and Flores set close to each other, a quick tap to Flores from Borzick leads to a seamlessly finished goal for Flores. Cementing the Cardinals victory and earning O'Neill his third shutout of the season.
North Central men's soccer travels Saturday, October 7, to Decatur, Ill. to face Millikin University at 2:30 PM, in hopes to improve its CCIW record to three wins. Live video and Live stats can be found HERE.
