NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Two players that keyed some of the better opening weeks of the nine College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin men’s soccer programs were rewarded on Tuesday with the first Player of the Week awards of the 2026 season.
On the offensive side of the ball, Joseph Sargent netted three times, with two going down as the game-winning goals as North Central College opened its season with a 2-0-1 record. In goal for Carthage College, Owen Malinowski notched a shutout on the opening night of the season and finished with 16 saves for the 1-1-1 Firebirds.
Fans can catch CCIW men's soccer action live and free on the CCIW Network throughout the 2026 season.
Offensive
Joseph Sargent, North Central (Forward, Sophomore, Evanston, Ill.)
The reigning CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year picked up right where he left off a year ago, presenting a constant threat to opposing defenses and scoring three times in three matches to propel North Central to a fine start to its campaign.
Sargent had a second-half brace to lift North Central to a 3-1 victory at Illinois Tech in the opening match of the season and he then converted the match-winning penalty kick in a 1-0 defeat of Milwaukee School of Engineering four days later. For the week, Sargent had 13 shots, with seven on target.
Defensive
Owen Malinowski, Carthage (Goalkeeper, Freshman, Snoqualmie, Wash.)
Malinowski made his collegiate debut last week and played all 270 minutes in goal for Carthage. He began his career in style, earning a shutout in a 4-0 triumph over Marian University. He would end the week with a loss at Illinois Tech and a draw with Ohio Northern University, but kept the Firebirds in each match by making a combined 15 saves against a barrage of offensive chances from each side.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).