CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Hornets (3-2-1) traveled down from Kalamazoo College in Michigan for a night match against the #18 Vikings (5-0-3). North Park came away with the win, 3-1, and extending its unbeaten streak to a record nine matches.
For the first five minutes of the match, Kalamazoo had bursts of energy and kept the ball on North Park's half of the pitch before the tides changed in the Vikings' favor. Roughly around the 15th minute, the Vikings had a free kick from just outside the box that was headed in by junior defender Teo Helm, but an offsides was called to keep the score at 0-0.
Shortly after, junior forward Michal Dejworek led freshman midfielder Bastian Eikeland up the right side for the only score of the first half.
Things got chippier in the second half but North Park maintained their dominance of controlling the ball despite egregious fouls and cards popping up for both teams.
Junior defender Hugo Neborg stepped in for sophomore forward Carson Belcher's penalty kick that he drew on a foul in Kalamazoo's box. Neborg converted on the PK early in the second half, extending the lead to 2-0.
In the 55th minute, Neborg sent an excellent entry pass from just outside the box on a free kick where Dejworek beautifully headed it to freshman defender Dennis Rinne, who followed suit with a header of his own for a Vikings' goal, making it 3-0.
The Hornets would end up scoring from close range with a second chance chip shot that hit off an NPU defender to push it to 3-1, but the Vikings' stout defense remained throughout the rest of the match to secure the 3-1 win.
What's Next?
North Park moves to 6-0-3 as they enter conference play by taking on Augustana College at home on Saturday, September 28, followed by heading out to Millikin University on Wednesday, October 2.
