Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu

ERIE, Pa. (Aug. 2, 2023) - The North Central men's soccer team shut out Penn State-Behrend 5-0 to win the 2023 Herb Lauffer Memorial championship game. 

The Cardinals' offense controlled the game from the very beginning. In the first minute of the game, Aidan Westerberg took a shot on goal, but Lions goalkeeper Sam York managed to make the stop. The Lions gained enough room to get the ball into the Cardinals' end in the 13th minute, but Justin LeDonne's shot was no match for Cardinals goalkeeper Riley Johnson, who made the save. In the 17th minute of the game, North Central obtained possession of the ball, and Jared Urueta found the back of the net off a pass from Aidan Westerberg, giving them a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, after a long battle between both teams' defense, Westerberg managed to take a shot on goal that York could not stop, putting the Cardinals in a 2-0 lead. North Central continued to control the ball, allowing one shot on goal by the Lions. In the 43rd minute of the game, Eloi Nyibizi passed the ball to Arthur Glinkin. Glinkin found enough space to send the ball soaring past York, increasing the Cardinals lead to 3-0. 

The Cardinals offense continued to control the field in the second half. In the 52nd minute of the game, Jacopo De Collibus had a great shot on goal but could not get it past York. After a couple more chances by the Cardinals, Edoardo Bonifacio takes a pass from De Collibus and buries one into the back of the net in the 63rd minute. Papijn Hakstege put the game away as he slipped past the defense and finished off J.P. Saux's pass to give the Cardinals a 5-0 win. 

The North Central defense extinguished all Penn State-Behrend's opportunities while picking up their first shutout of the season. Johnson picked up his first shutout of the season and tallied one save on the night. 

Bonifacio was named MVP of the weekend. He tallied two goals and was a key player for the to win the 2023 Herb Lauffer Memorial Soccer Tournament.

The Cardinals host Benedictine University on Tuesday, Sept. 5 for their home opener at Benedetti Wherli Stadium. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.

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