CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park Men's Soccer enjoyed a 3-0 rout of the University of Dubuque to open its 2025 season on Friday night. The Vikings' defense stood out the most, evidenced by the "0's" Dubuque's shots on goal and corner kick tallies. Junior defender Kevin Perez was named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Defensive Player of the Week after registering North Park's first goal of the season.
Freshman forward Noah Cameron and junior midfielder Mathias Soerum both added goals in that win over Dubuque while senior midfielder Vidar Rydell marked a pair of assists. Freshman goalkeeper Arvid Skoglund claimed his first win in goal while sophomore midfielder Oliver Marchetti Gaardman posted his first collegiate point with an assist in the opener.
Aurora University took a win over CCIW familiar Elmhurst University (0-1-0) on Friday evening, claiming their season opener 3-0. The stat sheet was nearly identical, but the Spartans held a 9-6 shots-on-goal advantage. Sophomore midfielder Walter Delapaz, senior forward Branden Dolezal, and sophomore midfielder Josue Roman had the scores in that win. Dolezal and Roman both added assists, as well. Dolezal is the Spartans' returning scorer from 2024, finding the back of the net 18 times in his 35 shots on goal, alongside 8 assists. Roman had a team second-best 14 assists in 2024.
The Spartans were picked to finish fourth in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) race (1. Edgewood, 2. MSOE, 3. Dominican) and even secured a vote for first-place in the NACC's preseason coaches' poll.
The match will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 3, under the lights of the Spartan Athletic Park. Kickoff in Montgomery, Illinois is set for 7:00 PM CT.
