Contact: Rachel Balinao, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant, rabalinao@noctrl.edu
WHEATON, Ill. (Oct. 21, 2026) - Silencing the Thunder in emphatic fashion Wednesday night, the North Central College men's soccer team stormed back for a 4-2 road victory over Wheaton College. Fueled by four goals and relentless attacking pressure, the Cardinals keep their unbeaten CCIW record alive and closed out their road schedule in style.
Wheaton struck first within the opening 10 minutes, capitalizing on a free kick and the ensuing rebound to take a 1-0 lead. But the early setback did little to slow the Cardinals, who quickly found their rhythm and answered back.
North
Central sparked its comeback through
Javi Landin on the right flank. Driving toward the end line, Landin sent a low cross into the box, where
Trey Zakeri beat his defender and finished with a one-touch shot for his first goal of the season, leveling the score at 1-1.
The Cardinals wasted no time seizing the momentum. Twenty-five seconds later,
Marco Costabile drove through the middle before switching the field to
Ivan Hooshmand. With one touch forward, Hooshmand calmly buried his shot in the corner of the net to give North Central its first lead of the night at 2-1.
With the momentum firmly on their side, the Cardinals continued to press in their attacking third while goalkeeper
Sebastian Herrera came up with a low save to deny Wheaton an equalizer in the defensive third.
North
Central struck again in the final 15 minutes of the first half to widen the gap. Following a throw-in from
Will Mayer,
Aleks Duncevic switched the ball to Hooshmand on the left flank. Hooshmand delivered a driven ball through the box, where
Andrew Donato slipped behind his defender at the back post and finished into the opposite corner. The goal marked the first of Donato's career and pushed the Cardinals' advantage to 3-1.
North
Central carried its attacking momentum into halftime, outshooting Wheaton 8-5 and putting six shots on goal compared with the Thunder's two. Herrera recorded one save in the opening half as the Cardinals took a two-goal advantage into the break.
The
Cardinals came out firing after halftime, with Hooshmand and
Sam Teeuwen each unleashing shots in the opening two minutes. Although both attempts were blocked, North Central kept the pressure on and needed just another 30 seconds to deliver its next blow.
Hooshmand
took over once again, collecting the ball in the middle before taking on his defender and driving toward the left side of the box. He unleashed a left-footed strike into the corner beyond the Wheaton goalkeeper, securing his second goal of the night and the Cardinals' fourth to push the lead to 4-1.
With
the Cardinals firmly in control, the defense continued to answer when called upon. In the 58th minute,
Jonas Mund and
Daniel Magallon helped lock down the back post, disrupting Wheaton's attack and preventing another scoring opportunity.
The
Thunder eventually found the net again with a finish inside the box, cutting the deficit to 4-2. But North Central remained composed, continuing to threaten offensively while protecting its advantage.
Both teams traded attacking opportunities in the closing minutes, but the Cardinals held their ground. Wheaton sent a shot high, while Landin narrowly missed to the right of the net as North Central closed out a hard-fought victory on the road.
The
Cardinals controlled the second half statistically, outshooting Wheaton 14-7 and putting four shots on goal compared with the Thunder's one. Wheaton's goalkeeper finished with six saves, while Herrera recorded one save with help from the North Central defense. The Cardinals also held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
The Cardinals will look to carry that momentum into their regular-season finale against Augustana College on Oct. 28 at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., as North Central aims to close out CCIW play unbeaten and finish the regular season on a high note.
