Box Score The Carthage College men's soccer team (11-5-2, 4-1-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked fifth in the Oct. 25 National Soccer Coaches Association Central Region poll, upset CCIW-opponent, No. 13 and previously-unbeaten North Park University (10-1-3, 4-1-1 CCIW), 1-0, on Wednesday night, Oct. 26 at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis.  The Vikings were ranked second in this week's regional poll.
 
Carthage struck first, with Mike Heika (So., Inverness, Ill./Palatine-Fremd) scoring at 21:28 first period, his third goal of the year and assisted by Billy Hamilton.  That was all of the scoring.  North Park's Isaac Blixt had shot that could have tied the contest with two second to play, but Carthage goalkeeper Milan Tijanic (Jr., Glenview, Ill./Park Ridge-Maine East) stopped the ball for his seventh save of the night.  The shutout was the sixth on the season for Tijanic.  The Red Men out-shot the Vikings, 13-9.
 
With the win, Carthage moved into a first-place tie in the CCIW with North Park.  The Red Men close out their regular-season schedule on Saturday, Oct. 29 with a 3:30 p.m. contest versus conference-opponent Illinois Wesleyan University (8-7-1, 3-2-1 CCIW) at the Neis Soccer Field in Bloomington, Ill.  A win over the Titans would give the Red Men at least a share of the conference championship, their second-ever and their first since 2007.  North Park concludes its regular season on Saturday night by playing host to North Central College (9-5-2, 1-3-2 CCIW).

“This league never ceases to amaze me,” said Carthage coach Steve Domin.  “The talent level, across the board, was obvious in this game.  Our guys have been sitting back, watching the rankings and listening to the chatter about all the great teams in the league and the country, with little mention of the Red Men.  We have been so ready this year because nearly every game on our schedule has been against a regional or nationally-ranked opponent, and nothing really seems to rattles us.  The truth is, I was nervous headed into this one with headliners Tyler Cortez, Aleks Urosevic, Aaron Dirck and Vladimir Schlageter out with injuries.  We just keep getting a better performance from the guys filling in for them, and it continues to define our this team.  The game was a tale of two halves.  We really owned the first, and then the wind came on and they started to pressure us in the latter part of the second.   It was a classic battle between two great teams.”