Naperville, Ill. (Aug. 20, 2024) - The North Central College men's soccer team fell to St. Olaf College 2-0 in their season opener on Friday night in Benedetti Wehrli Stadium.

St. Olaf capitalized early in the first half when Abdirasak Bulale took a pass from Clemente Arcuch Puig and put it past the Cardinals goaltender Trevor Share (4:30). A few minutes later, Eloi Nyibizi took a shot to the center of the net. Still, Oles' goalkeeper, Peter Forseth, was able to control the ball (7:51).

The first half showed some aggression from the Oles when they received two yellow cards in under three minutes. With 36 minutes left in the half, Jared Urueta had a great shot on the net, but once again, Forseth stopped the ball before it hit the back of the net. With just seconds left of the game, St. Olaf's Charlie Piller was able to capitalize on a Cardinal miscommunication to take a 2-0 lead.

Urueta opened up the second half for the Cardinals with a shot to the bottom center of the net but was stopped by Forseth. The tempo and intensity of the game started to increase, resulting in yellow cards for both teams. Nyiboizi shot the ball to the top of the Oles net, with Forseth barely keeping it out.

As time ticked down and emotions ran high, yellow cards started to be passed out. In the final 15 minutes of the game, the Oles received two yellow cards, while the Cardinals received one. Once the game clock ran out, the emotions could not be contained, resulting in each team receiving a yellow card. St. Olaf took the game 2-0.

North Central is back in action on Sunday, Sept. 1, as they take on Gustavus Adolphus College in Benedetti Wehrli Stadium at 1 p.m.

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