Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Oct. 10, 2024) - Traveling to Augustana College to take on the Vikings, the North Central College men's soccer team's offense struggled to connect, ultimately falling to the Vikings 1-0.
 
With the Cardinals (4-3-4) and Vikings (4-3-1) defenses working hard, the first shot on goal happened in the 15th minute. Cole Pettit found space to fire the ball to the center of the net, but Vikings goalkeeper Benjamin Samuelson got a hand on the ball.
 
Augustana did not get their first shot on goal until the 24th minute. Jimmie Kucaba sent a strike to the Cardinal net, but Lucas Visser made the stop. Just seconds left of the half, Davis Nelson had an opportunity to help the Cardinals take the lead, but Samuelson made one final stop.
 
The Vikings entered the second half fired up and scored the first goal of the game in the first minute. Rayane Haidi finished off a pass from Gonzola Alberola to put the ball out of Visser's reach.
 
North Central gained momentum trying to tie the game. The Cardinal's defense kept Augustana to only one other shot in the half. Meanwhile, the North Central offense tallied seven shots on goal, but none got past Samuelson. Augustana defeated North Central 1-0.
 
The Cardinals outshot the Vikings 21 to 10 with 13 of the 21 shots on goal. North Central's defense kept Augustana to just four shots on goal. Visser tallied three saves, while Augustana's Samuelson recorded 13 saves.
 
North Central will be back on the road Saturday, Oct. 12, to take on the Elmhurst University Bluejays at 7:30 p.m. at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Ill.
 
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