Contact: Rachel Balinao, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant, rabalinao@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Nov.4, 2026) - In a matchup between No.1 and No.4 seeds, the North Central College men's soccer team went into a penalty shootout before falling to Wheaton College in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin semifinal.
In
the opening half,
Will Mayer sparked the first offensive attack with back-to-back shots. Wheaton did not attempt its next shot until 10 minutes later.
Joseph Sargent followed with another shot, which was blocked, before the Cardinals recorded one final attempt to close the half.North Central held a 4-1 advantage in shots, while Wheaton put its lone attempt on goal. The Cardinals also recorded three corner kicks, but neither team found the back of the net.
Into
the second half, Sargent had the best opportunity of the match at the 46th minute, forcing the Thunder goalkeeper to make a low save.
Andrew Donato followed shortly after with another shot on goal that was saved once more.
In
the 75th minute, Wheaton earned a throw-in in its attacking third. The Thunder capitalized on the opportunity at the back post to take a 1-0 lead.
The
Cardinals went on to battle back with shots from
Griffin French and
Lorenzo Monticelli with Monticelli's attempt saved.
With 17 seconds remaining in the semifinal, North Central earned a throw-in in its attacking third. Monticelli sent the ball into the box, finding
Aleks Duncevic, who redirected it with his head to
Jonas Mund. Mund controlled the ball with a touch and lifted it over the Thunder goalkeeper to tie the match.
At the end of regulation, the Cardinals and Thunder entered the first 10-minute overtime period. Wheaton recorded the first opportunity in extra minutes that
Sebastian Herrera saved low to the right of the net.
Marco
Costabile fired a shot that was blocked before French recorded the final offensive opportunity of the first overtime period, narrowly missing high.
In the second overtime period, Landin came out with energy, forcing Wheaton to make a low save.
Sam Teeuwen followed with another attempt toward the upper-right corner, forcing the Thunder goalkeeper to make a jumping save.
Both
teams continued to create opportunities throughout the remainder of overtime, with
Trey Zakeri recording the final attempt that struck the crossbar.
After
two overtime periods, North Central and Wheaton entered a penalty shootout to determine which team would advance to the CCIW Championship. Wheaton defeated the Cardinals 4-2 in the shootout to advance in the tournament.
North
Central finished the season with a 12-3-3 overall record and a 6-0-2 mark in CCIW play, earning a share of the conference's regular-season championship. In addition to the title, the Cardinals earned six All-CCIW selections, including
Griffin French, who was named Defensive Player of the Year. North Central also received Coaching Staff of the Year honors to cap off its season.
