Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

CSC Release

GREENWOOD, Ind. (Nov. 25, 2025)- The North Central College men's soccer team has earned one spot on the NCAA Division III College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, as Joris Rijnja was named to the team on Tuesday afternoon. 

To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be at least sophomores with a 3.50 or higher grade point average. Athletically, nominees must compete in 90 percent of games played or start in at least 66 percent of games played.

Rijnja, a senior, has played and started in 18 games this past season for the Cardinals. He scored two goals and added an assist this season for North Central, including a game-winning penalty kick goal to send the Cardinals over North Park University on Oct. 25. His other goal came in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament semifinal against Illinois Wesleyan University on Nov. 5. Rijnja logged the third most minutes on the team while playing a key role in North Central's defense that saw them allow the third fewest goals in conference play. His efforts in the 2025 season earned him a CCIW Defensive Player of the Week award (Oct. 28), along with a spot on the All-CCIW Second Team as a defenseman.

A three-year member of the Cardinals program, Rijnja ends his North Central career with 46 total games played. He played a pivotal role in the Cardinals' success across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, where they were CCIW Regular Season Champions (2023), CCIW Tournament Champions (2024), and made two NCAA Tournament Appearances. 

North Central finished the 2025 season with a 9-2-8 record and reached the CCIW Tournament Semifinal.