Contact: Zachary Witken, Sports Information Graduate Assistant,
zdwitken@noctrl.edu
Wheaton, Ill. (Nov. 7th, 2021) - The quest for the first ever College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament championship came up just short for the North Central College women's soccer team on Saturday as rival Wheaton College scored two goals in the second half to win the tournament.
Although it was the first time in program history that the women's soccer program had been in the CCIW Championship Final, the training the team had done all year had prepared them for this moment.
Down to their third goalie of the year, freshman Madison Smith making her first collegiate start as a Cardinal rose to the occasion as she held the Thunder offense scoreless through the first 45 minutes of play. The Cardinals outshot the Thunder in the first half six to three and had opportunities to score, but couldn't find the back of the net.
To open up the second half, the Cardinal offense was in full attack mode with four corner kick chances within the first ten minutes of play. After not being able to capitalize on their chances, Wheaton College found luck as they scored off a free kick to give themselves the 1-0 lead in the second half.
The Cardinal offense battled back though after the Thunder goal to keep the pressure on Wheaton's defense by creating three more scoring opportunities, but weren't able to put one past Wheaton's goalie. You had felt though even being down one, that North Central would find a way to score to tie the game up with the scoring chances the team was having in the second half.
In the 73rd minute of play, the Thunder got lucky with being awarded a corner kick and was able to score to extend their lead now by two goals. Being down two goals and a CCIW Championship on the line, the women's soccer team fought to the very end of the game, but ultimately lost to their cross town rival in the end.
The Cardinal women's soccer team can be proud of what they accomplished this year by breaking the program's win total and beating Illinois Wesleyan (6-3 in the CCIW semifinal) and Wheaton (2-1 during the regular season) two teams that they have struggled against in the history of the program.
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