CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Men's Soccer is making their way to Northfield, Minn. this coming weekend to play in a strong regional hosted on the campus of St. Olaf College. Wartburg College will play host St. Olaf College at 11:00 AM CT on Saturday, Nov. 16, before the Vikings take on UW-Superior immediately after with a scheduled kickoff of 1:30 PM CT. Below is a preview on each of the four teams looking to make a some noise in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
North Park Notes
North Park (13-2-5) secured an at-large selection thanks to a strong strength of schedule and just two defeats on the season, including against North Central in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament championship. Head Coach Kris Grahn has led the Vikings to the NCAA playoffs in four of his past five full seasons at the helm, including an Elite Eight finish in 2021.
CCIW Newcomer of the Year Bastian Eikeland, a freshman midfielder, leads the Vikings with 20 points thanks to seven goals and six assists. He had two goals and an assist in the Vikings' decisive 4-0 win over Illinois Wesleyan in the CCIW Semifinals. Junior defender Hugo Neborg has nine assists on the season, good for 36th in Division III.
Freshman goalkeeper Ludvig Almborg boasts 10 shutouts in goal (4th in DIII) and has an impressive GAA of 0.63. As a team, the North Park defense ranks 14th in the country with a 0.600 GAA and their +26 goal differential cracks the top 40.
The Vikings, who were last ranked No. 9 by the United Soccer Coaches (USC), have shut out their opponent 11 times this season, including a scoreless draw with NCAA regional host UW-Eau Claire earlier in September.
UW-Superior Notes
The Vikings will face the University of Wisconsin-Superior (17-3-2) in a first-round matchup this coming Saturday, Nov. 16. The Yellowjackets are riding an eight-match winning streak, including through the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship to earn an automatic bid. The Yellowjackets have now qualified for seven-straight NCAA playoffs, most recently dropping a 7-1 contest to St. Olaf last season.
UW-Superior is extremely well rounded, boasting some of the top marks in Division III Men's Soccer. As a team, the Yellowjackets are the nation's leader in Scoring Offense (5.14 goals per game), Shots per Game (25.86), Shots on Goal per Game (14.32), Assists (78), Goals (113), Points (304), Goal Differential (+99), and Corner Kicks per Game (8.59).
Hometown hero and junior forward Jake Kidd ranks second in DIII with 24 goals and 1.14 goals per game. His 50 points and 2.24 shots on goal per game also rank 5th and 16th, respectively. Senior midfielder Felipa Oliveira has a dozen assists while senior defender Josh Bellamy also breaks into double-digit goal setups with 11.
St. Olaf Notes
St. Olaf (14-4-3) earned an automatic bid after winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship for the third season in a row. The Oles beat the USC's nationally fourth-ranked team in Gustavus Adolphus, 3-2, in that championship match. The 2023 Oles started the 2023 season 1-3 before going undefeated in their next 19 matches, all the way to a program-first national title.
The Oles are led by senior midfielder Shea Bechtel who is St. Olaf's all-time leader in points (126), goals (41), assists (44), game-winning goals (15), shots (253), games played (91), and games started (89). His younger brother Ryan, a sophomore defender, has 24 points this season from seven goals and 10 assists.
St. Olaf breaks the Division III top 10 in Corner Kicks per Game (7.95, 5th), Shots per Game (19.76, 5th), Shots per Game (19.76, 5th), and Assists (56, 6th). They allow just over one goal per game with a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 1.048.
Wartburg Notes
Wartburg (11-4-4) has the tall task of facing the host and defending national champs in the first round on Saturday. The Knights beat Nebraska Wesleyan University, 1-0, in the American Rivers Conference (ARC) Tournament championship to secure an automatic bid. Last year, Wartburg ended the season 12-2-6 and earned hosting rights to the first and second round of the NCAA playoffs. They hosted Gustavus Adolphus College, who were ranked No. 10 at the time, and fell, 3-1.
The Knights are led by a duo of midfielders in freshman Flori Gembo and junior Aidan Mott, who account for 29 of 105 points for Wartburg. Gembo leads the Knights with five assists and adds as many goals while Mott is the top scorer with six goals. Starting freshman goalkeeper Henry Eckert boasts a 0.91 GAA in his nearly 1,700 minutes in goal.
A Regional landing page created by St. Olaf Athletic Communications is available at this link and will be updated with visitor information, live links, and game results. Results and coverage will also be available at athletics.northpark.edu and North Park Athletics social media pages.
