St. Bonifacius, MN -- Tuesday, North Central University (NCU) men's soccer returned to Crown College for their semifinal match-up with the Providence University College (PUC) Pilots from Manitoba, Canada. This would be a match-up from the 2023 Regional Semifinal where the Rams walked away victorious at 4-1. Coming off their big 14-0 win over Trinity, North Central picked up where they left off with a 2-0 win to punch their ticket in the championship round.

Freshman Trystin Procyk got the start in net for the Rams. North Central went on the attack early with a shot on goal by Rody Cuate Torres that was turned away by the PUC keeper. Shortly after, Ulrich Mvogo recorded back-to-back shots on goal, adding pressure on the Pilots. NCU kept knocking on the door until they finally got one past the Pilot keeper. In the 28th minute, junior forward Alex Chacich broke through the Pilot defense for his third goal of the year to take a 1-0 lead. Later, in the 39th minute, Ulrich Mvogo made good on his numerous shot attempts with an unassisted goal to double the lead. NCU totaled 15 (10 SOG) shots to just 5 (1 SOG) from Providence. Rams led 2-0 at halftime. 

North Central got busy to start once again, as Sam Saye fired a shot just 36 seconds into the half. Both teams locked down significantly on defense in the second half of play. There were only a total of 9 shots in the final 45 minutes as opposed to 21 in the first half. Late in the second half, Providence made their best effort to claw back at the deficit but were ultimately unsuccessful. NCU keeper Trystin Procyk turned away all 4 shots on goal in the half to bring his afternoon total to 5 saves. North Central would hang on to win 2-0. 

Looking Ahead:

Men's Soccer returns to the NCCAA North Region Championship game for the second season in a row. The Rams play tomorrow, Wednesday, November 13th at 4:00 PM at Old National Bank Stadium on the campus of Crown College. They will face the winner of #2 Crown College vs. #3 Faith Baptist Bible College.

All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on men's soccer and all things NCU Athletics.