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

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Sept. 21, 2025)- In the latter half of their Iowa weekend trip, the North Central College men's soccer team took on the Coe College Kohawks (2-2-4), where the match ended in a 1-1 deadlock from Clark Field on Sunday. 

Both teams began the match trading shots, with Lorenzo Monticelli taking the first shot in the 3rd minute, which was saved by Kohawks' goalkeeper Jr. Holland. Coe responded with a shot of their own, saved by Daniel Szalai. The Kohawks' offensive attack started again in the 14th minute as Szalai faced his second shot on goal, which he kept out of the back of the net. 

Searching for momentum, the Cardinals (2-1-4) took charge in the 19th minute. Eltayeb Mahmoud brought the ball into Coe's defensive zone, juking defenders into the 18-yard box. Along the goal line, Mahmoud dished a pass off to Will Mayer, who fired with his left foot to the bottom right of the net. Mahmoud was credited with his first assist of the season, which set up Mayer's first goal this year. 

The Kohawks bounced back in the second half with a shot in the 49th minute, which was saved by a diving Szalai to his right. Following the save, the loose ball was chased down along the goal line, and Jonas Mund was called for a foul, which gave Coe a penalty kick. Ian Kearney took the penalty kick and fired it past Szalai to even the score at 1-1. 

North Central turned up the intensity on both ends following the goal allowed. Joseph Sargent fired a shot in the 70th minute, saved by Holland. Jay Umana tried for a go-ahead goal a minute later, which was also saved. Sargent and Marco Costabile each got a shot saved in the final stages of the match. Defensively, the Cardinals only allowed one shot on goal in the final 31 minutes of the contest, a last-second prayer from Coe, which was saved by Szalai. 

North Central outshot Coe 20-7, with a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. Holland recorded five total saves to Szalai's four, with the only goal allowed coming by a penalty kick. 

The Cardinals begin conference play as they host College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Carroll University (3-3-0) on Saturday, Sept. 27, with a 2 p.m. kickoff inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.