Contact: Ashleigh Jones, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
 
Nov. 1, 2017 (Chicago, Ill.)- Rain did not stop the North Central College men's soccer team in closing it's 2017 season strong, despite losing to North Park University 1-0 in its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin semi-final matchup.
 
The Cardinals opened the game with passion and grit from the opening minutes with a mix of usual starters and up and coming players who have played off the bench throughout the season.
 
Taking the Vikings by storm, North Centrals lineup change proved to be an essential factor to holding North Park to just one goal after losing to them just a week ago by three.
 
For the first eight minutes of the match, the Vikings looked a bit lethargic, and the Cardinals took full advantage of its opponents, maintaining a fast pace a pressuring the ball just past North Parks goal line.
 
Finally with the help of some fancy footwork and tenacious passing Jon Borzick got the first shot on goal at the eight-thirty minute-mark.
 
Not ready to give any hope to North Central the Vikings seized an opportunity thanks to a well-timed cross and put a shot on Connor O'Neill, only for it to go high.
 
Just a minute after Alexis Flores settled a great ball from Brett Johnson on the goalie box line and turned to shoot, but the shot was not under his full control and soared wide.
 
With the early shots on goal, and its superb defensive line the Cardinals played with confidence as North Park continued to struggle to get a good look at goal. Even though the Vikings outshot North Central 20 to nine, the total amount of shots on goal O'Neill had to face was four, exhibiting the utter sacrifice the defensive line took to maintain a 0-0 tie.
 
After 20 minutes of play and just one substitution the Cardinals' Alex BainesBaines sent the ball up the pitch, which was settled by Joe Trockiand then effortlessly threaded to Ryan O'Deen. Utilizing his speed and thoughtful footwork O'Deen powered a shot through the North Park defenders only to have it saved by the Vikings goalie.
 
Feeling the pressure of time winding down North Central tried to maintain control of the game, but North Parks offensive line was slowly wearing down the Cardinals backline.
 
With just 24 minutes passed the Vikings season leader in goals found the top left corner of North Central's net, giving North Park a 1-0 lead with over 20 minutes left in the game.
 
Only momentarily disheveled by the goal, the Cardinals recovered and contained each of North Parks remaining six shots on goal. Andreas Kristiansson played his heart out on defense.
 
Between sticking his body between the ball and the goal to timely slides Kristiansson led the back line by example, pushing his teammates to continue to fight back into this game.
 
That tenacity paid off because with just five minutes left in the first half North Central earned not one but three corner kicks in a matter of two minutes of each other.
 
Though the Cardinals were unable to capitalize on any of them, it was clear the resolve to play its best game was what mattered the most to North Central.
 
Starting the second half down by one and without possession of the ball, the Cardinals continued to play at high speeds yet again putting the Vikings on its heels.
 
At about 11 minutes into the second half Austin Lombardi settles a fantastic ball from teammate Ivan Bohorquez, but in the excitement of his position on goal puts too much power behind the kick, resulting in it soaring over the North Park goalpost.
 
Just eight minutes later, the Cardinals have held possession for quite a while and begin to strategically work its way up the field utilizing players down the sideline and within the middle of the pitch.
 
With a quick touch from Borzick to O'Deen on the left side of the North Park backfield, North Central vigorously congest the goalie box with Cardinals as O'Deen soars a ball right to the foot of Steven Abalos.
 
Despite a fantastic finish by Abalos, the sideline referee deemed him offside and retracted the goal, wiping away the game-tying goal with a flick of his wrist.
 
That missed opportunity did not define the remainder of the game, instead, it brought a new wave of urgency to the Cardinals resulting in more sliding tackles from North Central's offense and defense alike.
 
As time wound down and frustration towards call mounted the Cardinals sensed its season's demise, yet played aggressively till the end. Of the three shot attempts in the second half two of them came with just six minutes remaining in the game.
 
Unfortunately, sheer power got the best of Gavin Sanchez's attempt on goal and Kristiansson's shot was just too far for it to sneak up on North Park's goalkeeper. Ending any chance to extend North Central's season.
 
The Cardinals played a highly contested game and reached milestones on the way to the semi-finals this 2017 season. Opening the CCIW with a 5-0 record, and finding its way onto the United Soccer Coaches Central Region Poll are just a few high points to this incredibly talented team. The North Central College, men's soccer team, finished the season 8-9-1 overall and 5-4 in CCIW play.