ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – North Central scored three straight man-up goals late in the second quarter Wednesday with Augustana in a non-releasable penalty and went on to defeat the Vikings 13-8 at Thorson-Lucken Field. Augustana finished the year with a 6-6 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the CCIW, while the Cardinals move on to conference tournament play with a record of 10-1 overall and 4-1 in the league.
 
Scott Allgood scored the game's first two goals and then assisted on a Tom Eberhardt tally, as North Central jumped on top 3-0 five minutes in. Mark Teschke (Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.) assisted on a Trever Moore (Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Ill.) goal and then scored himself to cut it to 3-2 midway through the first quarter.
 
The teams traded goals into the early part of the second quarter. Scores by Carson Ghys (Warren HS, Gurnee, Ill.) and Shane Forsythe (Maine South HS, Park Ridge Ill.) again pulled the hosts to within one, but the Cardinals answered each time. Eberhardt's third goal of the game, at 13:30 of the second quarter, gave the guests a 6-4 lead and sparked a 7-1 run that, for all intents and purposes, decided the contest.
 
With North Central up 9-5 and just under three minutes remaining in the half, the Vikings were called for a non-releasable penalty and the Cardinals took advantage. Patrick Fransen sandwiched a pair of goals around another one by Eberhardt, all within a span of a minute, to extend the advantage to 12-5. Steve Robertson (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) scored his second of the game at the 1:13 mark to cut Augustana's deficit to 12-6 at the half.
 
The scoring pace slowed considerably in the second half as play became more ragged. Both teams nearly doubled their first half turnover totals in the second.
 
A Steven Faux goal early in the third quarter put North Central up 13-6 before Rocco Boggio (Waukesha West HS, Waukesha, Wis.) scored late in the period to make it 13-7. Bob Robertson (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) assisted on a Matt Pierson (Montini Catholic HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) goal with 8½ minutes remaining to account for the final.
 
The Cardinals had edges of 45-28 in shots and 34-28 in ground balls, but a key stat was their 4-for-5 performance with a man advantage. The Vikings finished 0-for-7 in those situations.
 
John Calabrese (Maine South HS, Park Ridge, Ill.) continued to shine on faceoffs, winning 14 of 21 and snaring a game-high seven ground balls. Steve Robertson finished with two goals and Moore and Teschke had two assists apiece. Paul Huber (Oak Park & River Forest HS, Oak Park, Ill.) had a pair of caused turnovers.
 
Eberhardt finished with five goals for North Central and Luke Illgen had four assists.
 
Augustana goalie Cameron Duffy (Glenbrook South HS, Glenview, Ill.) had 13 saves, while his counterpart, Jake Allgood, was credited with 10.