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

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Nov. 5, 2025)- The No. 3 seeded North Central College men's soccer team traveled to Bloomington, Ill., for a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament Semifinal match against the No. 2 seeded Illinois Wesleyan Titans. The Cardinals came up short, falling to the Titans, 4-1. 

North Central's defense denied early scoring opportunities by the Titans, with Ryder Coleman firing off two shots, one in the second minute and one in the sixth minute. Vincent Stanislao was up for the challenge, saving both shots and keeping the game scoreless. 

Will Mayer gave the Cardinals their first scoring opportunity of the match when he fired to the far post. Illinois Wesleyan goalkeeper Sam Kedzior made a diving save going to his right to keep North Central off the board. 

Illinois Wesleyan finally broke through in the final moments of the first half, getting on the board with 20 seconds remaining. North Central failed to clear an offensive attack by the Titans, which led to Illinois Wesleyan possession in the Cardinals' defensive zone. Elsworth McIntosh beat the defense and crossed the ball to the front of the net, which set up goal scorer Logan Tierney to flick the ball to the right of Stanislao. 

Trailing going into the half, North Central's offense had opportunities to score with five shots, but Illinois Wesleyan's defense stood tall with five saves. Despite the goal surrendered, Stanislao saved seven of the eight shots he faced in the first half. 

The Cardinals evened the score with an early second-half goal by Joris Rijnja. A counterattack put on by the Cardinals led to a corner kick taken by Aleks Duncevic. Duncevic lined up the pass and found Rijnja in the middle of the 18-yard box as he headed it to the top right of the net to make it a 1-1 game. Duncevic was credited with his ninth assist of the season, while Rijnja scored his second goal of the season.

The Titans retook the lead in the 60th minute and never gave it back, scoring three unanswered goals in the final 30 minutes of the match. The third Titan goal came in the 71st minute, while the final score of the game came in minute 79. 

North Central had 10 scoring opportunities, ultimately only capitalizing on one, while Illinois Wesleyan had 13. Saves were even across the board as Stanislao recorded nine saves in a valiant effort. 

North Central now awaits the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 10, where they will learn their fate on a national tournament appearance.