Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
Rock Island, Ill. (Oct. 25, 2023) - On a rainy Wednesday night, the North Central College men's soccer team shutout Augustana College, 5-0, and earned their second straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season title.
 
The Cardinal offense was fired up from the start of the game, getting three shots in the first three minutes of the game.
 
Tommaso Polidori capitalized first for North Central with a shot to the lower right side of the net that made its way past Vikings goalkeeper Ignacio Alberola in the eighth minute.
 
In the 11th minute, Polidori took a pass from Jack Fairwood and fired it into the back of the net again, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
 
After four shots from different Cardinal players, North Central capitalized from a shot by Peter Kimba.
 
With a 3-0 lead, North Central finished the first half outshooting Augustana, 27-10.
 
After a slower start to the second half, Eloi Niyibizi connected with Kimba. Kimba found enough room and fired the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the night.
 
The Cardinals closed out the game in the 77th minute. Tyler Dawson finished off the Vikings by scoring with assists from Pepijn Hakstege and Herman Hesby.
 
North Central finished off the regular season with a record of 15-1-2 and 6-0-2 in conference play. The Cardinals only loss was to Carleton College in early September, while their two ties were against Wheaton College and North Park University.
 
The Cardinals will host the CCIW Semifinal game Wednesday, Nov. 1, inside Benedetti Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Ill. North Central will play the winner of the Oct. 28 game between Elmhurst and Carthage.
 
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