Contact: Adam Poklop, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

Maintaining their composure despite going toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the conference, the North Central women's soccer team produced perhaps their finest win of the season as they beat the Elmhurst College Bluejays (9-3-1, 4-2 CCIW) 1-0 Wednesday night.

Both teams struggled to gain an advantage in the first half and traded unsuccessful shots. With 15 seconds left, Lexi Dimovski brought the Cardinals within inches of the lead when her shot deflected off the crossbar and landed just in front of the goal line where a Bluejay defender cleared it. 

Troubled loomed for the Cardinals in the 59th minute when Sidney O'Keefe maneuvered past the North Central defense, but Gretchen Frantz charged out of her box to force a shot that rolled wide of the goal to safety. Although Elmhurst goalkeeper Sophia Tuliglowski looked unbeatable in net for most of the game, she made a crucial error in the 72nd minute when she misplayed Kacie Moran's 25-yard shot. Unable to get a handle on it, she stumbled backwards into her goal allowing the game's only goal. Although the Bluejays landed three shots on goal in the last 10 minutes, Frantz had no trouble stopping them all.

"Tonight we showed a lot of heart. We dropped a nail biter to Wheaton Saturday and it was nice to respond with a win. Our team is starting to understand the grind of playing conference games. Elmhurst is an experienced team with a lot of seniors and they tested us physically," said head coach Andrew Gamarra after the game.

The stats help show how tight of a game it was, with each team recording 19 shots, nine saves, and two corner kicks. Lexi Dimovksi took five shots and landed two on net, while Lauren Wille took 4 shots and landed a pair on net. 

But Gamarra saw the key to their success as the solid play on their end of the field that kept Elmhurst off the scoreboard.

"Megan Jensen, Jessica Dahle, Elizabeth Hodonicky, Lauren Fischer, Emma Wilson, and Gretchen Frantz kept the back line steady today and showed a lot of resiliency," Gamarra added.

North Central (6-8-1, 2-4-1 CCIW) plays at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium for the final time this season on Saturday when they host the North Park Vikings (5-8-1, 0-4-1 CCIW). Game time is set for 1 p.m.