Contact: Ashleigh Jones, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
 
River Forest, Ill. (Sept. 16, 2017)- The North Central College men's soccer team fell short in its 2-1 loss to Dominican University this hot Saturday afternoon. From the beginning, it was clear that North Central was entering a cutthroat game that forced the Cardinals to step up and adjust to how Dominican sought to play the first half.
 
Within the opening minute of the game, the Stars aggressively attacked the Cardinals defense, forcing goalkeeper Connor O'Neill to face pressure much earlier in the game than anticipated.
 
Along with Dominican setting the pace of play, the temperature had a significant effect on the match. At over 85 degrees on the Stars' turf field, the heat took a toll on both North Central and Dominican thus slowing down the pace of the game to conserve energy for the remainder of the half.
 
Struggling to obtain possession the Cardinals fought hard to win more 50-50 plays in the air. But with a clear home field advantage, the Stars gave no opportunity for North Central to take control, and at the 10-minute mark Dominican overpowered the Cardinals backline and scored its first goal of the game.
 
Recovering well, North Central took falling by one goal as an opportunity to change the pace of the half in its favor and found itself in the 20th minute with an excellent corner kick opportunity. Unfortunately, the well-played corner was just too much for captain Jon Borzick to settle but acted as a reminder of the dangerous athleticism the Cardinals were waiting to showcase.
 
Though North Central struggled for possession and getting past the Stars' backline for much of the first half Matt Klosterman and the Cardinals' coaching staff utilized fresh legs and its depth to provide a spark in its offense.
 
Unable to find a rhythm with the new squad and with 90 seconds left in the first half North Central found themselves scrambling to recover after a botched offensive run. Dominican utilized this momentum shift and to surge past the Cardinals defensive line and score its second goal at the end of the first half.
 
Entering the second half down by two goals, the Cardinals came onto the field looking refreshed and ready to execute a plan of attack.
 
That plan became evident when Gavin Sanchez utilized strategic spacing with Borzick and Alexis Flores to gain an advantage on the Stars' defense. As he was gaining speed and about to fire a shot on goal he was illegally tackled in the goalie box and was awarded a penalty shot.
Ryan O'Deen stepped up and took the penalty shot against Dominican's reserve goalie Brendon Martin. With a swift high kick, O'Deen's shot hit the bottom of the crossbar, fell straight down, and rolled into the mouth of the Stars' goal.
 
Cutting Dominican's lead by half the Cardinals' found a new urgency knowing just how close it was to tie this game at two.
 
Despite North Central's efforts, Dominican utilized delaying tactics to stifle any chances for the Cardinals to move the ball upfield. With time running down and North Central's frustration mounting the Cardinals did have one last chance at goal. With just 30 seconds left in regulation, O'Deen fired a corner kick across the Stars' goal box only to be cleared and played out by Dominican closing the game 2-1.
 
Looking for redemption following this hard-fought game North Central looks to improve its' record at home on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, against Knox College at 7 PM. Live stats can be found HERE.