Bloomington, Il., -- Saturday afternoon saw Vikings (1-9) hit the road to play back-to-back games against Illinois Wesleyan (10-5), marking the second and third games North Park has faced off against the Titans this season. The first game of the day was battle, as the Vikings displayed a powerful offensive performance but ultimately fell short in a 24-18 loss. Despite holding a double-digit lead early in the game, a late surge by the Titans proved to be the difference.
The Vikings came out of the gate firing, establishing a 6-0 lead in the first quarter when quarterback Janiya Greenfield connected with Yamile Belmontes for a 16-yard touchdown pass. The momentum continued into the second quarter as Greenfield found Jayla Robinson for an 18-yard score, extending the North Park lead to 12-0. The Titans found their rhythm late in the first half, as quarterback Emma Caniglia threw two touchdown passes in the final four minutes of the second quarter—an 8-yard strike to Deanna Cirebea and a 10-yard pass to Maylin Nunez—to tie the game at 12-12 going into the locker room.
Wesleyan took their first lead of the game in the third quarter on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Caniglia to Natalyia Stallings. However, North Park responded immediately, wtih Greenfield and the Viking offense orchestrating a quick 3-play, 66-yard drive that was capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass to Paige MacRitchie to knot the score at 18-18. With 6:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Titans regained the lead after Caniglia found Laylah Glover for the score. North Park's late-game comeback attempt was cut short when Glover made the game sealing interception for the Titans on the Vikings final drive.
In the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, North Park fell 26-6. While the Vikings' offense showed flashes early, the Titans capitalized on defensive plays and a high-scoring second quarter to sweep the day's games.
Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter when Caniglia found Glover for a 5-yard touchdown pass. North Park answered back immediately with an explosive play of their own, as Greenfield aired it out to Jayla Robinson for a 39-yard touchdown strike, bringing the Vikings within one point at 7-6.
From there the Titan defense tightened up, notching a pick-6 to help the Wesleyan offense extend their lead to 26-6 at halftime. The second half turned into a defensive stalemate, however, with neither team able to find the end zone through the third and fourth quarters. Despite several drives deep into Titan territory, including an 11-play march late in the fourth quarter that reached the IWU 9-yard line, the Vikings were unable to close the gap.
There is just one game remaining in North Park's inaugural season, taking place at Aurora University on Wednesday, April 29th at 1:30pm for their fourth meeting of the season.
