ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- The No. 16-ranked North Park Men's Soccer team suffered a conference-opening loss at Augustana College on Saturday afternoon at Thorson-Lucken Field. North Park let up three goals in the first half and, despite answering with a pair in that same half, fell 5-2.
Augustana's Sebastian Trujilo drove a pair of goals within the first 20 minutes of the match - one in the third minute and one in the 20th - to give Augustana a two-goal cushion. Not a minute later, Augie's Jacob Roffman put the Rock Island Vikings up by three goals in the 21st minute.
North Park got a burst in the 31st minute when sophomore midfielder Bastian Eikeland set himself up by flipping the ball over Augie's over-pursuing keeper before heading his own pass in for North Park's first goal. Sophomore defender Dennis Rinne added another goal just seconds before halftime (44:50) to give North Park a shot in the second half.
However, North Park had to play a man down for most of the second half and two men down for the final 17 minutes and could not make up the difference. Augie tacked on two more goals in the half to stun North Park in a 5-2 win.
What's Next?
The Vikings (5-2-0, 0-1-0 CCIW) return to the Holmgren Athletic Complex for the first time since September 8 for a match with Millikin University on Wednesday, October 1. The Homecoming match will kick off at 7:00 PM CT.
