Contact: Ashleigh Jones, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
 
Sept. 6, 2017- North Central's aggressive offense was not enough to keep Carleton College at bay during its home opener 1-0 loss. The first half of play, the Cardinals competed with compsure and grit, knowing that the Knights were coming in with a 2-0 record this season.
 
North Central fought hard throughout the whole first half, particularly in the 42nd minute when Mark Roth, a junior defenseman for the Knights broke through the Cardinal backline and took a shot on goal.
 
Assessing the situation, North Central's goal keeper Connor O'Neill rushed the ball, ultimately having it deflected off Roth's foot and sending it barreling towards the goal.
 
With O'Neill out at the edge of the goalie box freshman defender Paden Sanford made a last defensive effort running full speed toward the goal line and sliding into the mouth of the goal to save the Cardinals from entering the half down by a one.
 
The depth of North Central's backline was showcased this evening against the Knights. Matt Klosterman, the head coach of the Cardinals, stated that "this was Sean Woodford's first start at center back and having Woodford with Sanford today, they did a really nice job, and kept their composer."
  
Despite the Cardinals' offensive efforts from Gavin Sanchez and Alexis Flores contributing significantly in out shooting their opponents two to one for the night, four shots on goal just were not enough.
 
With the help of Sean Sweeney, Andreas Kristiansson, Paden Sanford, and Jared Collier that held strong throughout the game, there is no question that this team has the potential on both ends of the field to be a real threat later this season.
 
North Central continues its non-conference play on Saturday, September 9 at 1:00 PM on Springer Field against Grinnell College. Live game statistics and video are available for the game here.