CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Men's Soccer is set to host the Trine University Thunder (0-3) in a unique Monday evening contest. The Vikings are unbeaten through two games and return to the Holmgren Athletic Complex on September 8 with more to showcase.
The Vikings cruised in wins against Dubuque and Aurora with 3-0 and 3-1 triumphs as both the offense and defense seem to be firing on all cylinders early in the season. As of Sunday morning, North Park jumped 18 slots to rank 11th in the Massey Ratings. Despite playing fewer games than every other College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) team, North Park is third in Points (18) and Goals (6) and tied for second with 6 assists.
Junior defender Kevin Perez has a pair of goals through two games played, putting three shots on frame. Junior midfielder Mathias Soerum and senior midfielder Vidar Rydell lead the team with a pair of assists. In North Park's 3-1 win at Aurora, Soerum appeared on the stat sheet with his two assists while sophomore midfielder Alexander Gahm and junior midfielder Thomas Roenning each marked their first goals of 2025.
The North Park defense has allowed just one goal through two games played, as sophomore goalkeeper Ludvig Almborg has seen all of the shots on goal for NPU (6). Freshman goalkeeper Arvid Skoglund had the opening day start against Dubuque in a match that saw no corner kicks or shots on goal awarded to the Spartans.
Trine is coming off a pair of shutout losses, most recently a 3-0 defeat at Anderson University this past Friday. The Thunder have scored just once this season when senior defender Gavin Hardy found the back of the net in Trine's season opener at Mount Union on August 29. Senior defender Ryan Cote is the top points returner for the Thunder. He's had 2 goals and an assist in each of his last three seasons.
This home match, set to begin at 6:00 PM CT, will be the only other chance to catch North Park Men's Soccer at Holmgren in September, as a road trip heavy schedule will feature five upcoming away contests.
