Minneapolis, MN -- Today was the semifinal round of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) North Region Men's Soccer Tournament. After defeating #5 ranked Oak Hills yesterday, the #4 North Central University (NCU) men's soccer team squared off with #1 Providence University College (PUC) Pilots. The last time these two squads met up back in early September, North Central walked away victorious with a 2-1 win over Providence. Today, NCU would take a great deal of confidence and momentum into their match as the Rams would upset the Pilots by a score of 4-1. North Central will advance to play Crown College in the championship game tomorrow at 3:15 p.m. right here in Minneapolis.
It would take all but two minutes for the first team to strike as the Pilots would jump out to an early 1-0 lead. Battling the early deficit, the Rams would fire 5 shots in the first 15 minutes, all of them off target. Then in the 16th minute of action, freshman Santiago Grams would penetrate the Pilots' defense to score his second goal of the tournament to tie things at 1-1. NCU would play a strong half defensively, only allowing 4 shots to be had by PUC. Continuing on the attack, sophomore Alex Chacich would find the back of the net in the 40th minute off the assist by senior Elliott Lebsack to put the Rams up one. Just before the final buzzer, freshman forward Alvin Wlejleh scored his second goal of the regionals off a feed from captain Anthony Medina. North Central would take a 3-0 lead into the break.
As the second half of play got underway, the teams would trade shots early. With championship hopes on the line, this half would feature an increased level of aggressive play by both squads as there would be a combined 11 fouls and 3 yellow cards. NCU would commit 15 total fouls in today's game, certainly something that head coach, Colette Montgomery, would like to clean up moving forward. There would not be another score until the 73rd minute when NCU's Alex Chacich would score his second goal of the game to give his team the 4-1 advantage. After a few fouls on either side and a pair of yellow cards from a frustrated Providence team, the Rams would take down the Pilots by a final score of 4-1.
Today's box score can be found here.
Looking Ahead:
Men's Soccer advances to the region championship game against the #2 Crown College Polars tomorrow, November 8th at 3:15 p.m. right here in Elliot Park!
All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates on men's soccer and all things NCU Athletics.
