Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
CHICAGO, Ill. (Nov. 9, 2024) – The North Central College men's soccer team punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament tonight. The Cardinals defeated ninth-ranked North Park University 2-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) tournament final.
 
North Central started the first half with high energy and momentum. Three minutes into the game, North Park's Jostein Blindheim fired a shot to the net, but Cardinal's goalkeeper Daniel Szalai was there to make the save. In the 17th minute, Luis Aviles found himself on the right side of the net with Viking defenders in front of him. Aviles was still able to fire a shot off, but Ludvig Almborg stopped the ball. The North Central offense continued to push the game, but no chances made it into the net. The half ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
 
The Cardinals came out of halftime fired up. With ten minutes on the clock, Peter Kimba fired the ball to the front of the net to find Ghettryam Nikiema. Nikiema buried the ball right past Almborg for his first goal in his collegiate career to give North Central the lead. The Cardinals gained momentum, and in the 57th minute, they struck again. Cas Selker sent the ball to the traffic in front of the net; in the air, Humberto Jaimes headed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. Tensions rose, resulting in the Vikings earning two red cards and two yellow cards in less than eight minutes.
 
After back-and-forth play, North Park earned a corner kick. With traffic in front of the net, Hugo Neborg connected with Michal Dejworek to put the ball into the back of the net and cut the Cardinals' lead in half. Time continued to tick down, and North Central held its lead. The Cardinals defeated the Vikings 2-1 to win the 2024 CCIW Tournament.
 
North Park outshot North Central 17-16, but the Cardinals recorded 12 shots on goal while the Vikings recorded just four. Szalai tallied three saves on the night.
 
North Central will have to wait to find out who they will face in the NCAA Tournament. Stay tuned for more information to be announced.
 
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