CHICAGO, Ill. -- The No. 21 North Park men's soccer team claimed its sixth College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament championship on Saturday evening, advancing over the fourth-seeded Wheaton College Thunder, 4-2, in a penalty kick shootout after the teams battled to a 3-3 draw through 110 minutes at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.
The victory extends North Park's unbeaten streak to 18 matches and secures the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Wheaton struck first in the 21st minute when Luke Vander Kolk finished a scoring chance on a 40-yard long ball from Ashur Eshw and Samb Brown to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.
The Vikings answered quickly. Junior midfielder Bastian Eikeland received a centering pass from freshman forward Gustav Finér before finish with a low-skipping shot inside the right post for the equalizer.
North Park grabbed its first lead of the day late in the opening half. Freshman midfielder Hampus Fogelberg pushed a pass up the left side of the field before a one-touch pass by sophomore midfielder Vilmer Af Klinteberg found senior forward Emil Svenander inside the box, who charged inside the Wheaton goal for the go-ahead tally in the 42nd minute.
The Vikings added to their lead in the 59th minute when Svenander boxed out a Wheaton defender 35 yards from the goal mouth before spinning around and finding Af Klinteberg on the left side of the box to give North Park a two-goal cushion.
Wheaton refused to go away, cutting the deficit to one in the 70th minute on a goal from Reuben Bos before drawing even just over five minutes later when Cooper Falling found the back of the net to make it 3-3.
Neither side could break through for the remainder of regulation or in either overtime period despite North Park holding a 25-16 advantage in shots and a 10-6 edge in corner kicks.
The conference championship came down to penalty kicks.
Eikeland and Fogelberg converted North Park's first two attempts before freshman midfielder Emil Soelscher added another successful kick. Junior goalkeeper Melker Regland entered specifically for the shootout, stopping the second a fourth shots he faced in the high-pressure situation.
With the title on the line, senior forward Carson Belcher stepped to the spot and buried the decisive penalty kick as the North Park faithful stormed the field to celebrate North Park's reclaimed double champ status.
Eikeland led the Vikings with five shots and a goal, while Af Klinteberg and Svenander each recorded a goal and an assist. Finér added an assist in the championship victory.
The tournament title is the sixth in program history for North Park and sends the Vikings into the NCAA Tournament with a shot of hosting more soccer in Chicago.
What's Next?
North Park (13-1-5) awaits the "when, where, and who" of the 2026 NCAA Men's Soccer Championships, with hopes of hosting the first and second round matches at the Holmgren Athletic Complex. Tune in to the NCAA Selection Show at 10am CT on Monday, November 9, to confirm what's ahead for NPU Men's Soccer.
