CHICAGO, Ill. -- The No. 9 North Park Men's Soccer team hosted a hungry North Central team in a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Finals match on Saturday night. The fifth-seeded Cardinals utilized a pair of early second-half goals to win the championship, 2-1.

In a testy game that featured eight cards, including a pair of sendoffs, both North Central keeper Daniel Szalai and North Park keeper Ludvig Almborg stayed busy in the net. The Cardinals had the throttle redlined throughout most of the match, putting a dozen shots on target against the Vikings, the most North Park has surrendered all season.

The Cardinals' Ghettryam Nikiema would head in the first goal of the evening off a long cross by Peter Kimba in the 55th minute. They tacked on one more just minutes later (57:29) when Humberto Jaimes headed Cas Selker's pass in from the farm corner for a two-goal advantage. Both scores were the first of the season for Jaimes and Nikiema.

Shortly after the goal, North Park was forced to play a man down due to a red card sendoff. 

When everything seemed bleak, the Vikings brought the energy back for the final 13 minutes of the contest, sticking to shorter, quicker passes to build out their base. They found success with that when junior defender Hugo Neborg chipped a corner shot into a busy box, cleaned up by junior forward Michal Dejworek for his fourth goal of the season in the 82nd minute.

However, the final two shots of the game, both sent in by Alexander Gahm, would either be blocked or just off target as the Cardinals climbed to a CCIW championship on the North Side.

What's Next?
North Central earns the league's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and the Vikings hope to join them. They'll learn their fate on Monday, Nov. 11, at 12:30 PM CT during the NCAA Selection Show. Please head to ncaa.com to view the bracket and selection show.