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Sam diving stop
1
Ill. Wesleyan IWU (10-2-3, 4-1-1)
1
North Central (IL) NCC (7-1-7, 3-0-3)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
(10-2-3, 4-1-1)
1
Final
1
North Central (IL) NCC
(7-1-7, 3-0-3)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1 0 1
North Central (IL) NCC 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Kedzior Eclipses 250 Saves in Draw Versus Cardinals

IWU clinches its spot in the CCIW Tournament


NAPERVILLE, Ill.- On a historic night for senior goalkeeper Sam Kedzior (Cary, Ill.-Cary-Grove), the Illinois Wesleyan University men's soccer team used a 1-1 score to draw with North Central College in a battle for second place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings Wednesday, Oct. 22 in Naperville, Ill. With the draw, IWU sits at 10-2-3 (4-1-1 CCIW) and clinches its spot in the CCIW Tournament. North Central idles at 7-1-7 (4-0-4 CCIW).

Kedzior shined in net for the Titans recording his 250th career save to go along with four others on the night. Tested early, the netminder settled in with a few key saves early on. His first came nine minutes into the match off a header that was headed for the top right corner of the net before Kedzior snared it out of the air. Just a minute later, he was tested again, with Cardinal Marco Costabile ten yards away. Kedzior beat him to the spot for the diving stop to mark the milestone number, becoming the first player in program history to achieve the mark.

North Central attacked first on the night with an excellent look in front of the net via a header that missed the outstretched arms of Kedzior and ricocheted off the top of the post and out of bounds. Quickly after, the Titans answered with a chance of their own off of a throw-in. Freshman Hunter Reinberg (Washington, Mo.-St. Francis Borgia) delivered the pass that bounced off the head of junior Ryder Coleman (Bannockburn, Ill.-Deerfield). When it fell back to the turf from the top of the post, junior Matthew Perchik (Glenview, Ill.-New Trier) found fellow junior Joey Rodino (Palatine, Ill.-Fremd) in the hustle and bustle of the box who rolled it past the Cardinals keeper. 

Freshman Daniel Smazil (Downers Grove-Downers Grove South) attacked on the far side for another threat, but his shot fell into the arms of the Cardinals keeper. North Central answered with an aggressive attack of its own in the 34th minute. The CCIW assists leader Costabile maneuvered around the Titan defense and landed a pass to the conference's leading goal scorer Joseph Sargent who beat Kedzior shortside to tie the match at one. 

Out of the halftime, both attacks traded efforts as Coleman tried to connect on a shot but missed left. NCC's offense remained strong the rest of the way, mustering up opportunity-after-opportunity but IWU thwarted them. The Cardinals manufactured a carousel of shots midway through the second period with the first coming from Sargent. Sargent sprung loose after a deflection at midfield and scurried down the pitch stride for stride with senior co-caption Nick McCully (Peoria, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame), and fired a shot just wide of the net. After a pair of goalkicks by Kedzior, the North Central attack was denied again as its shot found the hands of the Titans netminder. 

IWU filtered in a few threats of its own when Daniel Smazil drove near side and delivered a pass to the front of the net, but missed Perchik who got tangled up with a Cardinal. In the final minute of play, senior co-captain Jerry Smazil (Downers Grove-Downers Grove South) retrieved a rebound that bounced out of the box and fired a shot past the keeper, but missed wide. A final push in the last ten seconds from the Green and White fell short with the Cardinals defense blocking a pair of shots to keep the match at a draw.

Illinois Wesleyan outshot NCC by one, 16-15, but the Cardinals landed one more on net, 6-5.

The Green and White will keep the wheels spinning as it visits Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis., for its final road test of the regular season. The Schneider Stadium showdown will kick off under the lights at 7:30 p.m., serving as the second leg of a doubleheader with the women's team.
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