Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Oct. 19, 2024 - Taking on Carthage College on homecoming, the North Central College men's soccer team used a late goal from Will Mayer to claim a 1-0 victory over the Firebirds on Saturday afternoon at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

The Cardinals controlled the tempo early on in the first half as shots from Jared Urueta and Eloi Nyibizi were blocked by the Firebird defense in the 25th minute. Trey Zakeri put a shot on goal in the 37th minute, but Evan Kowalski made his first save of the contest. J.P. Saux missed an opportunity in the final minute of the first half, but the Cardinal defense held their own and did not allow a Firebird shot over the first 45 minutes.

The second half stayed at a stalemate throughout much of the second half. After several yellow cards from both sides and multiple chances by North Central, Mayer broke away from the Carthage defense and found the back of the net to break the tie, putting the Cardinals ahead, 1-0 in the 83rd minute. North Central's defense and goalkeeper Daniel Szalai kept the Firebirds from scoring the rest of the way to secure a 1-0 victory on homecoming. The Cardinals improve to 6-4-4 on the season with a 2-2-1 record in league play. Carthage falls to 5-7-1 with a 1-4 record in College Conference of Illinois play.

The Cardinals head to Bloomington, Ill. Wednesday as the Cardinals continue conference play against Illinois Wesleyan University with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

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