Wheaton men's soccer ties North Central 1-1
Wheaton, Ill. - After two overtimes and 110 minutes overall, the Wheaton College men's soccer team tied North Central College 1-1 on Saturday.
The Thunder run its record to 7-6-2 overall and 1-1-1 in the CCIW. The Cardinals are now 9-3-2 and 1-1-2 in the CCIW.
Wheaton was the aggressor early, making runs on goal by using its speed on the wings to set up quality scoring opportunities. Jordan Golz in particular had a string of shots at the goal from inside the box throughout the half.
But North Central stole the momentum in the 24th minute. A free kick rebounded straight to Kevin Okamoto, who hit a low liner through a bevy of players and found the inside of the left post from 20 yards out.
The equalizer came just a few minutes before halftime at 41:33. A corner kick fron Ryan Kammer with a touch from Cory Weaver found the head of Dan Pavlak to even the score at 1-1.
Both sides played evenly the rest of the way. North Central almost caught a break on a potential Wheaton own goal midway through the period, but the ball skidded slowly wide of the goal post. The Thunder continued to possess and make long runs throughout, getting into the box with some frequency.
Physical play picked up in the first overtime as a pair of yellow cards were handed out within a minute of each other. But neither side could net the game winner as the proceedings ended in a draw.
Wheaton goalie Ryan Seager made seven saves with one goal allowed. North Central goalkeeper Phillip Klipp collected 10 saves and one goal allowed. Wheaton held a 31-19 edge in shots, along with a 6-2 margin in corner kicks.
