A near sellout crowd of 2,106 fans went home disappointed unfortunately Saturday night as the Vikings opened the 2014 season with a 31-28 loss to visiting Concordia University Wisconsin.

Senior David Gonzalez' 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining spoiled an otherwise memorable offensive performance from North Park quarterback T.D. Conway and the Vikings' contingent. Conway nearly broke his own single-game record for pass completions, going 35 of 62 for 397 yards and two touchdowns.

North Park fell behind 14-0 to start the contest, but showed the resiliency champions are made of by nearly capping a complete comeback. The Vikings began their rally in the second quarter when D.J. Jones' three-yard run completed a 10-play, 74-yard drive with 10:14 left in the half. NP then closed within a point at 14-13 after Conway hooked up with older brother Dakota Conway in the back left corner of the end zone ending a 15-yard drive. The Falcons responded with a pair of scores to move ahead 28-13, but North Park fought back by putting up two more scores. T.D. found former NPU baseball player Daniel Anderson on a three-yard pass with 11:30 left in the third, and senior Drew Walkington knotted the score with a three-yard run, ending a 66-yard drive with just under five minutes left in the contest.

The Vikings did have one last opportunity to pull out the victory in the end when they drove 35 yards down to the Concordia 38, but T.D.'s pass down the right sideline as time expired was broken up in the end zone by three defenders.

Both teams were almost evenly matched in total yards as NP garnered 501 to Concordia's 485. Anderson finished the day with 12 completions for 111 yards and a touchdown as North Park ran 99 offensive plays. Walkington finished with 69 yards on the ground on 12 carries, averaging nearly six yards per carry (5.8). Joe Butz also recorded eight solo tackles to lead the Viking defense.

North Park (0-1) looks to rebound next Saturday when it travels to Alma, Michigan for a 1 p.m. contest with the Scots.