CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park (2-0, 0-0) hosted the Trine University Thunder (0-3, 0-0) to kick off the week after their 3-1 win over Aurora University last Wednesday. The Vikings took a 3-1 homestanding win thanks to a pair of goals by senior midfielder Vidar Rydell.
The first half saw both team's offenses attempt to break through batches of defenders, not allowing many shots on goal either way. While North Park dominated time of possession over the Thunder for most of the first half, the Trine backline was set on not allowing the Vikings to get anything with an easy look. When a Thunder player was called for a handball outside the Trine box, about 17 yards out, the Vikings seized their opportunity on the resulting free kick. Rydell took the free shot faced with a four-man wall in front of him, where he sniped the top left corner of the goal for the first score of the game in the 34th minute.
Rydell opened the second half with his second goal of the match in the 61st, one that was a bit unorthodox and uncommon. He sent in a corner kick from the right side of the pitch to the right-front of the goal where three Thunder players were blocking the keeper and jumped out of the way of the ball, allowing it to roll in for the second goal of the match untouched, giving the Vikings a 2-0 lead.
The final two minutes of the match had a wild finish with both teams scoring a goal, ending in a 3-1 finish in favor of the Vikings. At the 88:27 mark, Tyler Niemi found Nikola Bastaic for the only Trine goal and Bastaic's first of the season, edging the Thunder closer 2-1. 21 seconds later, though, senior midfielder Gio Resendez sent it over to freshman defender William Wiberg, who found senior Adam Hamad for his first collegiate goal of his career with an extreme-angle shot, extending the Vikings' lead to 3-1 and the victory.
What's Next?
The Vikings find themselves on the road for the next four games, with the first stop being in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where they face the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Wednesday, September 10 at 7pm.
