Contact: Matthew Eaker, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, mreaker@noctrl.edu 

Nov. 6, 2021 - Playing in their first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship game since 2015, the North Central College men's soccer team took down the Wheaton College Thunder 1-0 on a beautiful afternoon inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. 

The Cardinals advanced to the Championship game with a 2-1 win over Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday and Wheaton took down No. 1 seed North Park 2-1 in overtime to make their first appearance in the CCIW Championship game since 2016. 

The Cardinals looked to stop Wheaton's offense who averages two goals per game and has outscored their opponents 35-20 this season. Just two minutes in, the Wheaton offense had an opportunity to take an early lead. Goalkeeper Sid Marquardt shutdown Alessandro D'Argento chance to keep the game tied. 

In the 25th minute, Dane Richardson had an opportunity to give the Cardinals the first lead of the game. Richardson sent a strike on net that was handled by Wheaton's Hasten Biddlecomb. 

In the second half, the Cardinals were looking to get on the board and put away Wheaton. Freshman Jaziel Enriquez scored the game winning goal against Illinois Wesleyan on wednesday to put the Cardinals in this game. Today, Enriquez received a pass from Herman Hesby and put his shot in the lower right corner just out of the reach of Biddlecome to put the Cardinals up by one. 

The Cardinal defense was dominant and shut down Wheaton's opportunities late in the second half. Marquardt tallied an easy save to secure the 1-0 win for the Cardinals. This is the first CCIW Championship that the Cardinals have won and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament which begins on Nov. 12. 

The Cardinals (18-1-1, 6-1-1 CCIW) will play again in the NCAA Tournament next week. The selection show for the NCAA Tournament is on Nov. 8 at 12:30 pm CT on NCAA.com. For more information about the NCAA tournament, please click HERE. 

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