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

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (Sept. 1, 2022) - The North Central College men's soccer kicked off their 2022 campaign on a beautiful Thursday night in Fond Du Lac, Wis. as they took down the Sabres of Marian University 4-0, to notch their first win of the season. 

The Cardinals (1-0-0) were looking to jump ahead early but the Sabres (0-1-0) had different plans as they had a chance early but goalkeeper Sid Marquardt shut down the offensive attack to tally his first save of the season. The Cardinals offense was looking to get on the board but their first four shots missed the net keeping the game tied at zero. In the 16th minute, Jacopo De Collibus had an opportunity to score but his shot was handled by goalkeepr Aden Jerome, shutting down the Cardinals opportunity. The first half held at a standstill and the two teams would head into the break tied at zero. 

The second half remained at a standstill until the 56th when Aidan Westerberg's shot was saved by Aden but Jack Fairwood took the rebound and put it in the back of the net to give the Cardinal's the first lead of the game. Just three minutes later, the Cardinals would extend their lead as Herman Hesby finished off a Westerberg pass to put the Cardinals up 2-0. The Cardinals controlled the game for most of the second half and in the 80th minute, Jack Bonavia broke away from the Sabre defense as his shot snuck past Jerome to put the Cardinals up 3-0. Brandon Harmsen put the game away as he slipped past the defense and finished off a Matteo Innocenti pass to give the Cardinals a 4-0 win. 

The Cardinals defense shut down all of Marian's opportunities, picking up their first shutout of the season. Marquardt picked up his first shutout win of the season as he tallied two saves.  

The Cardinals are back in action Saturday as they host the Kalamazoo College Hornets in a non conference matchup. Kick-off is set for 1 pm inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, for live coverage, click HERE. 

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