CHICAGO, Ill. – The North Park men's soccer team will head down to the campus of the University of Chicago Friday afternoon for an NCAA Tournament matchup with the St. Olaf Oles. This is the second consecutive season that the Vikings have made it to the Final 16, falling to Calvin at this stage in the 2019 season.
How did the Vikings get here?
North Park converted an up-and-down non-conference schedule into a route of their CCIW competition. For the first time in school history, NPU won all their regular season conference games outscoring foes by a total of 34-4. However, the Vikings were upset in the conference semifinals by Wheaton College, who ended up falling in the finals to North Central and not earning a bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Vikings were able to earn a Pool C at-large selection, and the opportunity to host the first two rounds. In the first round, NPU dismantled the stingiest defense in the MIAC, defeating Carleton College by a score of 4-2. That set up a grudge match against WashU-St. Louis who had toppled the Vikings 3-2 in an early season matchup. North Park avenged that defeat with a resounding 3-1 victory over the fourth best defense in the country.
How did the Oles get here?
St. Olaf College rarely had a slipup all year, only losing two games throughout the season, one of them in the MIAC tournament championship. After an early season loss to Colorado College followed by a tie with the University of Chicago, the Oles railed off 15 straight wins before the Knights of Carleton downed them 2-1 in the MIAC final.
Like NPU, the Oles secured an at-large bid and the opportunity to host the first two rounds. St. Olaf breezed through their competition, beating Dominican 3-0, followed by a route of Loras 4-0.
Names to Know:
The Vikings are led by third-year Head Coach Kris Grahn who is making his second appearance in the sectional round. The former Vikings star player has accumulated a 31-10-2 record all-time and has never faced the Oles as a head coach. Peder Olsen is the Viking most likely to appear on the scoresheet, as he has 19 goals and nine assists on the year. That mark adds up to 47 points which is the most ever by a Viking in a single season. Jesse Anamoo's goal last Saturday also got him up the single-season points list as his 29 points puts him tied for tenth. Gustav Ericcson was named the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year this season after two goals and nine assists.
St. Olaf will be behind Head Coach Travis Wall, who, like Grahn, is also in his third season. Wall has a career record of 31-14-1 with the Oles. Hakeem Morgan is the leading scorer for St. Olaf with 15 goals and nine assists this year. Plainfield North product Shea Bechtel is just behind Morgan with 11 goals and was named the MIAC Freshman of the Year this year. Finally, Frenchman Victor Gaulmin was named the MIAC Midfielder of the Year and is a perfect 4-4 on PKs.
Quick Hits:
- All four teams in this sectional got in due to Pool C at-large berths, meaning none of the participants won their conference tournaments (or regular season conference title in UChicago's case).
- North Park is 2-3 this year against Top 25 teams, while St. Olaf is 0-0-1
- If the Vikings advance, they will be looking for revenge no matter who they play. Calvin knocked NPU out of the last tournament in 2019 and the University of Chicago defeated the Vikings 1-0 at the Holmgren Athletic Complex earlier this year on October 23rd.
How can I watch?
The game is set for 1 PM on Friday, November 19th at Stagg Field on the campus of the University of Chicago. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and $2 for kids age 2-13. If you are not able to be there in person, a live stream will be available at https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/msoc/live-video. If the Vikings win, they will advance to the next round on Saturday, November 20th with kickoff at 3 PM.
