North Central College Cardinals

Contact: Rachel Balinao, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant, rabalinao@noctrl.edu 

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 28, 2026) - Keeping its undefeated home record intact at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, the North Central College men's soccer team delivered a statement performance in its regular-season finale, shutting out Augustana College, 5-0, to claim a share of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) regular-season title. The Cardinals now advance to the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the CCIW Tournament.

North Central wasted no time applying pressure, with Joseph Sargent recording the first shot of the match on a low placement toward the center of the goal that was saved by the Augustana goalkeeper. 

Maintaining the pressure throughout the opening period, North Central held 62 percent of the possession and consistently drove deep into Viking territory. The Cardinals fired off seven early attempts before finally breaking through in the 38th minute. 

Following a foul drawn by Javi Landin roughly 10 yards beyond the box, the senior set up for the set piece. Landin cleanly bent a bending effort into the top left corner to break the ice and put North Central in front, 1-0. 

With the first half winding down, Aleks Duncevic fired a shot on target that the Vikings' goalkeeper managed to save. Andrew Donato was ready for the rebound, however, following up on the loose ball and tapping it past the keeper to double the Cardinals' advantage just before halftime. 

North Central headed into the break firmly in control, holding a commanding 15-2 advantage in shots and earning seven corner kicks while keeping Augustana on its heels. 

The Cardinals carried that intensity into the second half. Marco Costabile opened the period with a powerful strike that narrowly missed wide left. 

20 minutes later, the Cardinals received a throw in their attacking third, after the ball was thrown in and bounced around in the box, Landin got on the end of it to put it away for his second goal of the game and his fourth of the season. 

In the 67th minute, the Cardinals struck again. Following a throw-in deep in the attacking third, the ball bounced around inside the penalty area before Landin found it and buried his second goal of the afternoon. The finish marked his fourth goal of the season and pushed North Central's lead to 3-0. 

The Cardinals were not done yet as two minutes passed, Donato helped orchestrate another attacking sequence, finding Duncevic. Duncevic switched the ball to Ivan Hooshmand on the right side. Hooshmand took on his defender one-on-one before chipping a shot over the Vikings' defense and into the right side of the net for a goal to fire up the Cardinals and a 4-0 North Central advantage. 

While the Cardinals continued to perform offensively, the defensive effort remained relentless. Sebastian Herrera put his body on the line to come out of goal and collect a dangerous ball, keeping the Vikings from creating a scoring opportunity inside the box. 

With the victory firmly within reach, North Central delivered one final statement. Sam Teeuwen collected the ball in midfield and initiated a give-and-go with Elia Paita before receiving the return pass and slotting a finish into the right corner to complete the scoring at 5-0. 

The Cardinals finished with a commanding 8-1 advantage in shots in the second half, putting four attempts on target and earning seven more corner kicks to finish with 14 for the match. Herrera and Jack Orris combined to preserve the shutout, capping a complete team performance as North Central closed the regular season.

The victory sends the Cardinals into the postseason with a 12-2-3 overall record and a 6-0-2 mark in conference play, earning them a share of the CCIW regular-season championship alongside North Park University.

The Cardinals advance to their eighth CCIW Tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed in the bracket. The tournament will begin on Oct. 31, with North Central receiving a bye in the quarterfinal round. The Cardinals will host the semifinal round at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Nov. 4 at 5 p.m., facing the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 Wheaton and No. 5 Carroll.