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

Box Score

Oct. 4, 2017 – Unable to come back from an early deficit, the North Central College women's soccer team suffered its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) loss of the season, falling 1-0 to Elmhurst College at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Bluejays took control of the ball for the better part of the first half, denying the Cardinals any opportunity to score. North Central challenged Elmhurst's offense with aggressive defense, composure, and a few timely steals.

But the Bluejays were gunning to score and in the 19th minute, Sidney O'Keeffe found an opening in the Cardinal defense, winding her way to goal, and put the ball in the back of the net and Elmhurst on the board 1-0.

The Cardinals would only muster one shot attempt in the opening half, but the defense held strong, keeping the Bluejays in sight going into halftime, thanks Gretchen Frantz's five saves.

Playing with a sense of urgency in the second half, North Central picked up the tempo to try and develop more scoring opportunities and wear out the defense. Despite best efforts, the Cardinals could not come back from the deficit as time expired and Elmhurst came away with its second conference victory.

Rebecca Wallin did her part on the offensive end to make something happen, taking two shots. Anna Brodjian, Lexi Dimovski, Catherine Kent and Dana Plotke each had one shot attempt each.

Rachel Kolling and Alivia Siudak were two of the Cardinals' strong forces on the defensive end, helping keep the score close and Frantz end the night with eight saves on 12 shots faced.

North Central (5-5-1, 1-1 CCIW) travels to Decatur on Saturday, Oct. 7 to face Millikin University. Game time is set for 12 p.m and a link to live in-game coverage can be found HERE.