Lily Mattison throws in the ball vs Trine
©Steve Woltmann
0
Wheaton (IL) WC (6-5-6, 3-2-3)
2
Winner North Central (IL) NCC (13-5-0, 8-0-0)
Wheaton (IL) WC
(6-5-6, 3-2-3)
0
Final
2
North Central (IL) NCC
(13-5-0, 8-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wheaton (IL) WC 0 0 0
North Central (IL) NCC 0 2 2

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Record Night Seals No. 1 Seed for Cardinals

Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302

Oct. 29, 2025 - The North Central College women's soccer team had a record night under the lights of Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, as they defeated Wheaton College, 2-0, to claim the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season title outright with its second perfect conference record in program history. The win represents milestones for Head Coach Andrew Gamarra with his 100th win at the helm, sophomore goalkeeper Lily Mattison's eighth shutout to tie the single-season program record, and the first career brace for junior Gabriella Mattio. The Cardinals (13-5, 8-0 CCIW) will be the No. 1 seed heading into the CCIW Tournament while Wheaton (6-5-6, 3-2-3 CCIW) will be the fifth-seed.

Wheaton applied a strong press from the get-go, pulling all 10 players across the midfield to defend against North Central's offense. In doing so, the Thunder player-marked Jordan Lange as the biggest scoring threat through the whole match.

North Central's closest scoring opportunities came off of corner kick opportunities. On the first entry, Brooke Nelson took a shot off a defensive clearance only to have it bounce off the football goal post. Mackenzie Loomis attempted the next shot off a corner, with a header that was ultimately saved by the Thunder keeper.

With Wheaton's strong defensive presence, the Cardinals took only eight shots in the opening 45 minutes while not allowing a single shot by the Thunder to carry an 0-0 stalemate into halftime. 

Immediately following the second half whistle, North Central was awarded a throw in with Madison DeVriendt entering it into Mattio, leading her down the line. Mattio cut back to her right foot to shake off her defender and took the shot. Wheaton's keeper got her fingertips on it but was not able to rally the stop as Mattio gave North Central a 1-0 edge 22 seconds into the half. 

Eight minutes later, quick ball movement by the Cardinals led to another setup for DeVriendt to one-touch pass it into Kara Waishwell who dished the cross into the box for an ensuing Mattio. Mattio's spin move off her defender gave the junior a one-on-one look with the keeper before delivering North Central's second goal in the 53rd minute. 

In goal, Mattison did not see a shot, let alone a shot on goal, until the 68th minute of play. With 13 minutes left on the clock, Mattison made a clutch diving save to maintain the shutout. In the final minute, Wheaton got another good look at the goal but Mattison was there making the jump to the upper right corner for another incredible save to secure her eighth shutout of the season. 

North Central led the stat sheets in shots (18-7) while both teams were awarded five corner kicks, and Wheaton's keeper Leah Roe held the slim advantage in saves with six compared to Mattison's five. Through 18 games in the regular season, Mattison has totaled 58 saves.

As the No. 1 seed, North Central will receive a bye in the opening round of the CCIW Tournament and will resume competition Wednesday, Nov. 5 with a semifinal match against the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between No. 5 Wheaton and No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan University. North Central will host the semifinal contest at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium at a time still to be determined. 
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