GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Jason Lollar opened the scoring with a long strike in the first half.

Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton College men's soccer team jumped ahead early but were victimized by several set-piece goals as North Park University came away with the 3-2 victory on Saturday.

The loss drops the Thunder to 6-6-1 overall and 0-1 in the CCIW. The Vikings run their record to 7-0-5 and 2-0-1 in conference play.

In front of a large, raucous crowd, the hosts got themselves on the board first in the early going. It was at the 7:08 mark when junior midfielder Jason Lollar gained possession, made a run towards the goal and launched a 28-yard strike that found the inside of the far left post.

The Thunder continuted to get good offensive pressure and earned quality scoring chances as a result. A number of headers in the box narrowly missed or saved.

But the momentum swung back to the Vikings at 26:31 thanks to an Erik Kinnhammar header off a free kick that knotted the score at 1-1. North Park gained the lead seven minutes later on a bending 25-yarder from Jonas Pettersson that found the upper 90.

Chippy play also dominated the pitch. Four yellow cards were handed out in the first half as the intensity grew on both sides.

The second half saw the visitors come out and own the possession game. The Vikings held sway in the midfield, especially on balls in the air. The decisive blow came at 58:04 when Kinnhammar scored another header off a free kick to make it 3-1.

However, Wheaton kept things interesting late. The Thunder hit paydirt at 71:30 when Drew Golz (PICTURED RIGHT) got into the box and volleyed home a long cross in the air from Cory Weaver. It was Golz's fifth goal in his last three games against North Park.

Both teams got plenty of chances down the stretch both on direct attacks and counter attacks. But the ball did not find the twine the rest of the way, ending with a 3-2 final.

Wheaton owned a 16-8 shot advantage along with an 11-5 edge in corner kicks. Goalie Ryan Seager (5-6-1) collected two saves. Vikings goalkeeper Alexander Adielsson (1-0-1) made four saves.

The Thunder are back in action on Wednesday with a 7 PM home game against Carthage College.