CHICAGO, Ill. – A pair of first-half goals lifted North Park Men's Soccer over the WashU Bears on Sunday afternoon. The shutout, 2-0 win marks the second shutout of the week for the Viking defense and sophomore goalkeeper Ludvig Almborg.
Within the first two minutes, the Vikings were setting themselves up for scoring opportunities. Freshman defender Dennis Rinne tallied the first shot of the game at 1:32, saved by the WashU keeper. In their next chance, sophomore midfielder Bastian Eikeland and fifth-year forward Jostein Blindheim connected in front of the goal for a perfect give-and-go score in the second minute.
North Park had another opportunity in the fifth minute with a penalty kick that was denied by Bears keeper Jesus Tadeo.
However, following a corner kick by junior defender Hugo Neborg, the Vikings played hot potato by keeping the ball in the air from the head of a WashU defender, to the heads of sophomore midfielder Mathias Soerum and Rinne before a left-footed chip shot by junior defender Teo Helm put the Vikings up 2-0 in the 15th minute.
North Park was in cruise control through the rest of the match, only allowing one WashU shot to go on frame through a full 90 miinutes of field time. The Vikings put seven of their 11 shots on target in the win.
Quick Hits
- Goals for Blindheim and Helm, their first of the season
- Assists picked up by Eikeland, Rinne, and Soerum
- Sophomore forward Carson Belcher credited with a pair of shots on target
- Clean sheet for Almborg; third shutout of the season for him and the NPU defense
What's Next?
North Park (2-0-2) travels to Luther College this coming Friday, Sept. 13, for a game against the Norse. Kickoff in Decorah, Iowa is set for 6:00 PM CT.
