LISLE, Ill. – The North Park men's soccer team pulled no punches in a 5-2 road win over Benedictine University on Sunday night. The Vikings put 14 shots on goal, featuring a hat trick for sophomore midfielder Mathias Soerum.
North Park was forced to play catch up in the first few minutes of the match as Benedictine's Chris Reynoso found Dawid Molek for a fourth-minute goal.
The next shot of the game for either side would be the neutralizer as junior forward Michal Dejworek found the back of the net just over two minutes later at the 5:45 mark to tie things up.
All five of the next shots would be sent in off the foot of a Viking as sophomore midfielder Vidar Rydell and graduate student forward Jostein Blindheim peppered the Benedictine goalkeeper. However, it would be sophomore forward Carson Belcher who put the Vikings ahead after drawing a foul in the box and converting on an ensuing penalty kick in the 29th minute.
However, just a few minutes later at 31:15, Benedictine's Alex Krzos knotted the match up 2-2.
Before halftime, the Vikings would regain their lead when junior defender Hugo Neborg played through to Soerum, who finished the tally at 43:29 to give NPU a 3-2 lead going into the locker room.
The NPU defense, that only allowed a pair of shots – the two goals – in the first half, locked things down in the second half. The Vikings didn't let a single shot go against them, let alone towards second-half starting goalkeeper Melker Regland.
Meanwhile Soerum, who scored the final goal of the first half, rattled two more off in the second half off assists from Rydell at 52:44 and 57:23 to put the game out of reach. His three goals at Benedictine today made him the 19th player in NPU men's soccer history to record a hat trick and it's just the 25th time that a Viking has one to his credit.
Soerum's hat trick is the first for the Vikings since All-American Peder Olsen bagged three goals at home against Carleton in the second round of the D3 tournament on November 13, 2021.
Quick Hits:
- Hat trick for Soerum, one goal each for Dejworek and Belcher
- Pair of assists for Rydell
- Three shots on frame for Belcher
- 27 different Vikings saw playing time in Lisle
What's Next?
North Park (1-0-1) welcomes the 16th-ranked UW-Eau Claire Blugolds to the Holmgren Athletic Complex next Friday, September 6. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM in Chicago.
