Contact: Ben Nordman, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Sept. 22, 2018) - Coming off three straight wins, the North Central College men's soccer team looked to extend that streak into conference play in their matchup against the Millikin University Big Blue on Saturday, but ultimately dropped the game 4-1.

Despite getting out shot by a wide margin, Millikin (5-3-0, 1-0-0 CCIW) made the most of their opportunities, converting on all four of their shots on goal. The Cardinals, on the other hand, controlled the ball for most of the game and managed to get off a season-high 22 shots, but could only convert once.

Junior Alexis Flores started the game well for the Cardinals, finding the back of the net in the 11^th minute on an unassisted goal coming off a rebound from a shot by Gavin Sanchez. It was his fifth goal of the season, which currently is tied for the lead in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).

From there until the final horn it was all Millikin, scoring four unanswered goals. Bradyn Nokes started the run for the Big Blue, scoring in the 26^th minute. Nokes notched another goal in the 40^th minute, this time scoring on a highlight-reel header. Nokes now has five goals on the season, tying Flores for the conference lead in that category.

The Big Blue added on in the 54^th minute, when Austin Taylor headed a corner kick from Patrick Dolan into the net. Millikin's final goal was scored by Trey Knighton off a penalty kick due to a Cardinals foul in the box.

The Cardinals drop to 4-3 on the season and are now 0-1 in conference play. They continue their conference schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 26 when they host Wheaton College at 7:30 pm. Follow along with the live stats HERE.