Contact: Rachel Balinao, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant, rabalinao@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Sept. 11, 2026) - The North Central College men's soccer team avenged last season's loss to Wartburg College with a 3-1 victory over the Knights on Friday afternoon, earning a hard-fought win in a physical matchup.
In the opening minutes, both teams struggled to generate offensive opportunities, with the first shot of the match coming from the Knights at the six-minute mark and sailing just high. The Cardinals saw their first opportunity from Marco Costabile, who ripped a low shot to the left that Joseph Svoboda saved. Costabile got the ball back for another attempt that was blocked before Aleks Duncevic ended the sequence with a shot wide right.
Nearing the end of the half, at the 34-minute mark,
Trey Zakeri cleared the ball after a Wartburg attack, finding
Eltayeb Mahmoud on the flank. Mahmoud played the ball over the top to
Joseph Sargent, who brought it down with his head to beat his defenders and slotted the ball past Svoboda into the corner.
North Central earned a corner kick in the final seconds of the half but could not generate an opportunity before the whistle. The Cardinals entered halftime with a 1-0 lead, holding a 6-4 advantage in shots and earning three corner kicks.
In the second half, the Knights came out with energy and immediately attacked, sending a shot wide left. Wartburg recorded two more shots on goal, but Cardinal
Tim Chai was a force along the back line, blocking two shots to keep the Knights off the scoreboard.
At the 85th minute mark,
Lorenzo Monticelli left his defender in the dust on the dribble and found
Daniel Magallon on the left flank for a give and go. Monticelli received it back and buried it away left footed to give the Cardinals 2-0 lead. Monticelli scored his first career goal at North Central while Magallon recorded his second assist of the season.
A
minute and nine seconds later, the Knights crossed the ball into the box, where Flori Gembo redirected it with his head into the back of the net to bring Wartburg within one. With time ticking away, the Knights continued to pressure the Cardinals in their defensive third.
After being awarded a corner kick in the final 30 seconds, Wartburg sent one last opportunity into the box, but North Central cleared it away. Sargent then went up for a contested header against Svoboda at the center circle and won the ball, sending it forward to
Javi Landin. Landin walked the ball into the open goal for his first goal of the season, sealing the 3-1 victory for the Cardinals.
The Knights outshot the Cardinals 14-11, while North Central held a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Cardinals earned four corner kicks in a chippy matchup that featured 27 total fouls.
Vincent Stanislao and Svoboda each recorded one save.
The Cardinals will return to Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium to honor their seniors against Nebraska Wesleyan University on Sept. 13 at 2:30 p.m.
