Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
WHEATON, Ill. (Nov. 6, 2024) - A late goal by Jared Urueta moved the North Central College men's soccer team past Wheaton College and punched the Cardinal's ticket to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament Championship next Saturday (Nov. 9). 
 
Both offenses looked to capitalize early in the contest. Just four minutes into the game, Wheaton's Kyle Johnson put a shot on goal, but Daniel Szalai tracked the ball and made his first save of the game. The Cardinals quickly changed the tempo by recording three shots on goal in three minutes of play; two shots came from Urueta and one from Ghettryam Nikiema; however, Thunder goalkeeper Mason Escalante stopped the ball each time. The teams continued to take chances, but with both goalkeepers staying big in the net, no goals were made.
 
The second half did not start in favor of North Central. In the 49th minute, the Cardinals received a yellow card while the Thunder earned a penalty kick. However, the Thunder missed their penalty kick, and the game stayed tied at 0-0. North Central's offense continued to put strikes on goal, including shots from Hector Huerta, Will Mayer, and Jack Bonavia, but the Cardinals could not capitalize. In the 85th minute, Trey Zakeri connected with Urueta. Urueta fired a strike to the bottom right corner of the net, out of Escalante's reach, putting the Cardinals ahead, 1-0. North Central shut down the Thunder's offense for the remaining five minutes.
 
North Central outshot Wheaton 21-20, with eight of those shots on net. Szalai tallied six saves in the contest as he improved to 5-2-1 on the season while picking up his fifth shutout.
 
The Cardinals will travel to North Park University for the CCIW Tournament Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 9, inside Holmgren Athletic Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Click HERE for more information.
 
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