Wheaton, Ill. -- Coming off of the program's first undefeated conference slate since 2013 and a second-consecutive regular season title, the Wheaton men's soccer team returned to action at Joe Bean Stadium on Wednesday night by welcoming city rivals North Park University for a CCIW Tournament semifinal match. The Thunder earned the top seed in this year's competition and secured a first-round bye into the semifinals, while the fourth-seeded Vikings defeated Carroll University in a dramatic 1-0 overtime win in last weekend's quarterfinal in Chicago. North Park kept its momentum going with a 2-1 upset this evening to advance to this Saturday's CCIW Championship match. Wheaton's overall record now stands at 11-3-4 upon the conclusion of its regular season and CCIW schedule.
After underperforming through much of its fall slate, North Park, this year's preseason favorites in the conference, finally played to its potential in Wednesday's clash, avenging its 1-0 home loss to Wheaton last month with an impressive display. The Vikings doubled the Thunder's total shot count at a 21-10 margin and steered eight efforts on goal to the home side's five. NPU took nine corner kicks while surrendering just three at the other end and claimed a 53-47% possession edge across the 90 minutes of action.
Jack Krahel (
pictured right) had an impressive outing in what could be his final match for the Orange and Blue, tallying six stops and saving an early North Park penalty kick to keep the score tied at 0-0.
Fellow veteran
Kyle Johnson marked his return to the starting lineup after a lengthy injury layoff with the Thunder's only goal of the game. Strike partner
Luke Vander Kolk led the team with three shot attempts this evening, and he and Johnson were joined on one shot on target by
Cooper Falling,
Jack Kern, and
Isaac Lucas.
The visiting Vikings seized the contest by the scruff of the neck from the opening whistle, and North Park got an immediate opportunity to take the lead when Krahel made contact inside the box with an opposing forward who darted in behind the Thunder defense. But the CCIW Goalkeeper of the Year made amends with an excellent save from the resulting spot kick, diving down to his right to deny the shot attempt and bring Wheaton's sideline and home crowd to their feet. (
VIDEO)
The Windy City outfit were not deterred in their search for the opening goal and posted the game's next five shots and three corner kicks before Wheaton finally attempted an effort of its own in the 17th minute. But the Thunder grabbed the lead against the run of play in the 23rd minute thanks to an industrious run through the heart of midfield by
Timmy Jones and a dangerous cross into the penalty area by Falling. The sophomore was looking for the run of Vander Kolk at the near post, but a North Park defender steered the ball toward the goal himself via an accidental clearance mishap, and the Vikings' unsighted keeper could only manage to get a fingertip to it as he lunged backwards to make the save. The ball was already on its way over the goal line when Johnson (
pictured 
left) slid in and tapped it home from the closest possible range, and the senior's touch gave the regular season champions a 1-0 advantage. (
VIDEO)
But the hosts' joy was short-lived as North Park's pressure paid off less than one minute later with a rapid response. A corner kick by the visitors was initially cleared away by the Thunder, but the NPU player that failed to score the penalty 22 minutes earlier got his redemption with a fierce half-volley from 20 yards out that flew into the bottom left corner and stunned the Bean Stadium crowd. With the scoreline knotted back up at 1-1, the Chicago squad maintained its high-energy and physical approach and fired off five more shot attempts before the end of the first half. But none of these efforts found the target, and a lively opening 45 minutes concluded with no separation on the scoreboard.
The second period began in much the same way, with the fourth-seeded challengers taking the game to Wheaton and drawing a pair of saves from Krahel in the first ten minutes while not giving away any looks on the other side of the field. North Park completed its turnaround on 59 minutes with a surgical free kick goal that was curled inside the right post from nearly 30 yards away. Having established their first lead of the night and with time now on their side, the Vikings naturally adjusted their game plan and employed a slower, more defensive style in an attempt to see out the victory.
Wheaton's most dominant stretch of the contest came in the final ten minutes, as NPU sat back and invited pressure while the Thunder tried to find a way through. Vander Kolk, who netted the late winner one month ago in his team's 1-0 win in Chicago, nearly grabbed an equalizer with seven minutes left to play but was denied by a high-quality reaction save from the Vikings' shot-stopper. Falling and Kern each came close themselves and drew more stops from the North Park keeper as the final minutes trickled away. Wheaton worked hard to find the goal that would force overtime and keep its tournament hopes intact, but the visiting side did just enough to notch the road win and deliver more semifinal heartbreak to the Thunder.
After logging consecutive tournament victories, North Park will look to complete an unlikely run to the CCIW Championship crown and NCAA Tournament when it travels to Bloomington on Saturday to face second-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University in the conference title game. While the Thunder did not manage to secure the league's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship, there is still a possibility that Wheaton, ranked fourth in the latest Region VIII rankings and currently 41st in the NPI, can snatch an at-large bid to the national tournament. The selection show for this year's Championship will take place at 10:30 AM CST on Monday, and a link to view the show and the confirmed tournament bracket can be found
here.
