CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park men's soccer suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday night. The 1-0 loss is nothing to hang their heads about, as the Vikings took on defending national champs and current No. 2 U-Chicago at Holmgren.
The Maroons scored the game's only goal in the 14th minute when Jack Leuker lined a corner kick into a pair of Vikings' legs. Redirecting off of North Park, the ball bounced backwards and into the net for an own-goal.
U-Chicago rang in nine shots in total through the first 45, but the Vikings peppered the Maroon keeper a few times, too. Freshman forward Vicente Sabbione and sophomore forward Michal Dejworek both had shots on goal before a second-half surge would lead to more NPU opportunities.
Shortly after the halftime break, Dejworek manufactured one of the best scoring opportunities for the Vikings all night. Receiving a perfect pass from sophomore defender Teo Helm, Dejworek positioned himself behind a U-Chicago defender and headed the pass towards an open right side of the goal. However, the header was a touch high, banging off the crossbar in a near-miss.
Will Boyes, the U-Chicago goalkeeper, preserved the game once more in the 84th minute when he had a highlight back-to-back save off shots from freshman midfielder Eduardo Cirilo and sophomore forward Emil Svenander.
Unfortunately, this would be as close as North Park could get as the Maroons needed just the 14th minute goal in the 1-0 win.
Quick Hits:
- Maroons total 19 shots, six on frame
- Vikings with 14 shots, seven on frame
- U-Chicago's Evan Kanellos had three shots on goal
- Dejworek led NPU with a pair of shots on goal and five in total
- Sophomore goalkeeper Raul Jasso makes five saves and allows just one goal against the nation's second-ranked squad
What's Next?
North Park (3-1-0) has two more home games this week, starting with Wartburg on Friday, September 15, before following with Ohio Northern 24 hours later. Kickoff for Friday's game is set for 7:30 PM at Holmgren.
