NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Carroll University men's soccer team suffered its first conference loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling 4-0 to North Central College at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. The Pioneers moved to 4-8-1 overall and 2-1-1 in CCIW play, while the Cardinals improved to 9-2-2 and 3-0-1 in the conference.
North Central opened the scoring in the 17th minute as Joseph Sargent found the back of the net to give the Cardinals a 1-0 advantage. Carroll kept the deficit at one for much of the opening half before Aleks Duncevic converted a penalty kick in the 39th minute, sending the Pioneers into halftime trailing 2-0.
Carroll generated two shots in the opening 45 minutes, with attempts from Giovanni Aguilar and Ignacio Sanz both blocked. North Central finished the half with eight shots and six corner kicks.
The Pioneers created more opportunities after the break, putting three of their five second-half shots on target. Iskander Sharipov forced a save in the 53rd minute before Braeden Mejia tested the Cardinals' goalkeeper in the 66th.
North Central extended its advantage late, with Jonas Mund scoring in the 80th minute before Duncevic converted his second penalty kick of the afternoon less than three minutes later for the final 4-0 margin.
Carroll continued pushing forward in the closing minutes. Edin Hajric had an attempt blocked in the 85th minute, Pablo Segura Larraz put a shot on target in the 87th and Liam Stokes recorded the Pioneers' final attempt in the 89th. Carroll finished with seven shots, including three on goal.
In goal, Angel Escamilla played all 90 minutes and recorded five saves for the Pioneers.
Carroll returns home Wednesday for another CCIW matchup, welcoming Wheaton College for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
