CHICAGO, IL (August 29, 2011) – A College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship, its third NCAA National tournament berth and its first-ever win in the NCAA tournament.
What else do you expect from the North Park men's soccer team?
In now his 13th year as the head men's soccer coach at North Park, John Born has prepared this year's Vikings team as a preseason favorite to win the conference again. Could this be the year NP finally pushes through and reaches its full potential?
“We have very high expectations for this team,” Born said. “I think we have the talent and the depth to go very far this season.”
From the six First Team All-CCIW selections last year, North Park returns all but two of them for the 2011 season. Leading that group will be senior Kris Grahn, who was named the CCIW Player of the Year and earned D3Soccer.com All-American honors. He led the team and the conference in points, game-winning goals, and was second in goals scored, and assists. Joining Grahn will be senior Sehten Hills, who tied for the team lead in goals scored and was second in goals per game average.
For most of the season last year North Park was ranked in the NCAA Central Region rankings thanks to the stellar play of Grahn and Hills, but also from the contributions of sophomore Filip Lindmark, who earned his First Team All-CCIW selection by leading the team and the conference in assists per game. Junior Tim Ahlberg turned in one of the most impressive performances in recent North Park soccer history as well as the top goalkeeper, with allowing less than a goal per game. He made 95 saves for just under an 84 percent save average.
“If we come together and stay healthy, this will be a special team,” Born said. “We have added size, skill and speed this year with the addition of 25 first year players. There will be great competition for playing time. The hard part will be to try and find the correct combination and to have this group come together in such a short time-frame.”
North Park's schedule will also be one of the toughest. The Vikings open with Aurora University, but then come home to take on NCAA Division III power Dominican University, a squad which reached the NCAA Final Four in 2009 and has three Elite Eight appearances in the last eight years as well as nine straight NCAA tournament appearances. In addition, North Park will face nationally-ranked UW-Whitewater, a team it defeated 2-1 on an overtime goal from Grahn last season when the Warhawks were ranked No. 6 in the country.
The CCIW schedule boasts some tough challenges as well, including a match-up with Wheaton College October 8 in Wheaton, in a rematch from last year's CCIW tournament title game where the Vikings earned a 3-2 victory. Along with North Park, the Thunder is picked to tie atop the CCIW standings.
“Every year our number one goal is to win the highly competitive CCIW,” Born said. “This year is no different.”
