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

Sept. 6, 2025 – A successful penalty kick from junior Jordan Lange in the second half put the exclamation point on the Cardinal Senior Day as the North Central College women's soccer team came away victorious in a 1-0 shutout over Dominican University Saturday afternoon, Sept. 6. The Cardinals move to an even 2-2 record on the season while the Stars dip to 1-2.
 
Just two minutes into the contest, senior Yazmin Martinez put the Dominican defense to work. A battle for possession at the top of the box drew out to Stars keeper enough to give Martinez an open look at the goal but a DU defender swept in for the team save.
 
North Central dominated on the outside flanks, taking six corners compared to Dominican's one in the first half alone. Victoria Jaimes nearly broke the stalemate in the 34th minute with a bicycle kick attempt off of the corner kick, but despite the Stars' goalie being out of position, a DU defender moved in to protect the goal.
 
In addition to its corner kick advantage in the opening half, North Central took 11 shots while the Cardinal defense did not allow a single one for the Stars through the opening half. Eight of the Cardinals shots were on goal, but none found the back of the net.
 
An aggressive second half saw yellow cards distributed to two Cardinals and two Stars throughout the half. Both cards assessed to Dominican resulted in penalty kicks for North Central. In the 63rd minute, Dominican goalie, Gianna Stanek tackled Brooke Nelson in the box, giving Sophia Hein a PK opportunity. Stanek made up for the card by thwarting Hein's shot off as well as Kassandra Salviola's rebound shot attempt, keeping the match scoreless.
 
With under 15 minutes left to play, Dominican found themselves in a one-on-one look with Cardinal keeper Lily Mattison, but the sophomore executed a clutch sliding save.
 
A Dominican handball in the box in the 77th minute gave North Central another PK opportunity. Lange would take it this time and put it away for the 1-0 advantage.
 
Dominican managed to get off two more shots in the final 13 minutes but was unable to overcome North Central's relentless defense. Through 90 minutes, the Stars took only four shots compared to the Cardinals' 15. North Central also held the upper hand in corners, 8-3, while Dominican's keeper totaled 10 stops and Mattison accrued four.
 
North Central is back on the road Wednesday, Sept. 10, as the Cardinals head to Grand Rapids, Mich. For a matchup with Calvin University. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET at Zuidema Field.