Contact: Ashleigh Jones, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
 
Kenosha, Wis. (Sept. 30,2017)- The North Central College men's soccer team earned a highly contested win over Carthage College in its double-overtime 1-0 shutout.
 
As the first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) game of the season, the Cardinals knew the Red Men would not go down without a fight.
 
Seeking to break its losing streak North Central's only thought was to overpower Carthage and build momentum going into CCIW season play. The opening minutes of the game, however, led the Cardinals to adjust its initial plan of attack and revert to focusing on maintaining its defensive line.
 
With Carthage outshooting the Cardinals nine shots to two and only committing three fouls in the first half North Central found itself constantly adapting and making defensive stops to hinder the advancement of the Red Men.
 
Entering the second half scoreless North Central reverted to its original plan to attack aggressively. Within three minutes of the second half Carthage took advantage of the Cardinals' insistent play and managed to steal the ball and advance to the goalie box.
 
In its attempt to stop further attempts towards the goal the Cardinals backline scrambled to stifle any clear passing lanes. However, due to a miss-timed slide at the 48th-minute a foul was called against the Cardinals, which led to a Carthage penalty kick.
 
Keeping his composure, Connor O'Neill read Carthage's Adrian Herrera's shot and stole Carthage's chance to get ahead with a diving save. Taking the opportunity to calm his team down and reset the field O'Neill showed great leadership from the backfield.
 
As time wound down, the desperation to win this conference matchup, led to North Central slightly unraveling and allowing the Red Men to inch closer to ending the game in Carthage's favor.
 
Despite being outshot 5-1 in regulation, North Central's focus on collapsing and containing Carthage's aggressive offense paid off. With multiple stops, the Cardinals assisted O'Neill significantly against Carthage's quick combination plays.
 
Ending regulation scoreless, the Cardinals found itself entering its sixth overtime of the season. Though tired and frustrated with the extra period, North Central had an advantage, for the Cardinals knew just how dangerous its offense could be in overtime play.
 
After an evenly matched first overtime, the Cardinals had the chance to start the second overtime with the ball. With timely passes and just maintaining possession, the Cardinals pushed the ball out of its backfield and into neutral territory.
 
At the 102nd minute after tirelessly fighting to get in the Carthage backfield, Sean Woodford snuck the ball out of the Carthage midfield and booted across the field to a waiting Gavin Sanchez. Sanchez then turned on some fantastic speed and shot just high and wide enough for the Carthage goalkeeper to miss and ultimately win the game 1-0 for North Central.
 
Looking to build on its win North Central heads back home on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, at 7 PM to play its second CCIW game of the season against Elmhurst College. Live stats can be found HERE.