CHICAGO, Il., -- After their 3-0 victory over the Firebirds of Carthage College on Wednesday, the Vikings (4-6-2, 1-1-1) played host to an undefeated Illinois Wesleyan team Saturday afternoon as they aimed to notch another conference win.
Both North Park and Wesleyan attempted their fair share of shots throughout the first half, six and seven respectively, yet both teams struggled to put many of those on goal. Amara Olivas was the sole Viking to put one of those six shots on goal, while the Titans' only shot on target ended up being the only score of the first half. Wesleyan's Peyton McMahon sent a quick pass to Ellen Dahlquist who kicked a deep pass to Zoe Kormah on a breakaway for an easy chip shot into the net just outside the box in the 36th minute. The Vikings would have some opportunities with shots from Caroline Sjøstedt and Almi Palmer, however they would go into halftime down 1-0.
The Vikings finished with 18 total shots to the Titans' 11, however North Park was not able to knock one through in the second half. Sjøstedt led all players with 8 shot attempts with Emilie Østlyngen earning two shot attempts and eight other Vikings with at least one shot. In the 65th minute, Wesleyan extended their lead to 2-0 after Kahlie Gaske-Dominguez connected with Taylor Haun on the right side of the pitch where she sent in a shot to the left side of the net.
Many of the North Park shots came in the last 20 minutes as they were trying to claw their way back into the game, but the Titan defense remained solid throughout the match not allowing an of the Vikings to get easy looks along with their keeper saving all 3 of the shots on goal North Park was able to find. The Vikings move to 4-7-2 on the season and 1-2-1 in CCIW play; their next contest will be on Wednesday, October 14th against a North Central team that is receiving votes in the national polls.
