PICTURED: Matias Warp

North Park's run at a CCIW tournament title and automatic berth to the NCAA Division III National Tournament came to an abrupt halt Thursday night as the Vikes were upset 3-1 to No. 3-seed Wheaton College in the semifinals at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.

Entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed and already owning a 2-1 regular season victory over the Thunder, the Vikings found themselves in an uphill battle as they fell behind 2-0 in the first half. Although Wheaton mustered only seven shots in the first half, they made the most of their offensive chances in earning their second trip to the conference championship match in the last three seasons.

Wheaton tallied its first goal in the 11th minute when David Clark scored on a header from a Max Carey free kick that just grazed his head and dropped in the bottom left corner of the net. After a Wheaton shot hit the left post, the Thunder's Jacob Kapitaniuk found the rebound right at his feet and he buried a shot in the right corner of the goal to give the visitors a two-goal lead four minutes before halftime.

North Park cut the deficit in half in the 63rd minute when Matias Warp tallied his fourth goal of the season on a free kick in the bottom left corner of the goal from 30 yards out, but Wheaton all but put the match out of reach in the 84th minute when Carey scored on a header off a Will Woodfin assist.

NP finished 18 shots to Wheaton's 17. Carel Kawele-Kuzona fired a team-high five shots while Kebba Sanyang had three, and both Chase Lennartz and Gianfranco DeCarne had two each. Carey led the Thunder with four shots.

North Park will now await the possibility of an at-large bid when the NCAA Division III tournament field is selected Monday morning.