Chicago, Ill. -- Facing a 3-1 deficit with 20 minutes remaining in regulation, the Thunder men's soccer team mounted a valiant comeback in the CCIW Championship match on Saturday evening. But #21 North Park survived the upset bid to win a penalty kick shootout, 4-2, following the teams' thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time. In addition to claiming the conference tournament trophy, the hosting Vikings have secured the CCIW's automatic berth to this year's NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship. North Park now owns an overall record of 13-1-5, while Wheaton's season ends on a mark of 6-9-5 after the team's impressive run to the title game.
The Thunder were the #4 seed in this year's tournament and were making the program's first appearance in the conference championship match since 2021. The Vikings, who finished the regular season as co-champions with Wheaton's semifinal round opponent, North Central, came into the competition as the #2 seed and were appearing in the title game for a third-consecutive year after falling short of the trophy in 2024 and 2025.
North Park entered Saturday's matchup on a 17-game unbeaten run, having not conceded more than two goals in a game since a 5-2 defeat to UChicago on September 1. But these noteworthy streaks were put under threat when All-CCIW First Team striker
Luke Vander Kolk (
pictured right) gave the visitors the lead 20 minutes into the contest. After fellow senior
Ashur Eshw drew the first save of the game in the fifth minute and Wheaton's
Oli Piasecki came up with two clutch stops at the other end, the conference's leading goalscorer pushed the Thunder ahead with a top-quality finish.
Eshw won the ball near midfield and moved it ahead to
Sam Brown on the left wing. The hometown sophomore wasted no time in delivering a dangerous ball over the top of the Vikings' back line for Vander Kolk to run onto. The experienced attacker let it bounce once before rifling a volleyed strike from the middle of the box off of the underside of the crossbar into the top left corner.
But Wheaton's lead would not last long, as the nationally ranked hosts answered back just six minutes later via a clinical strike from outside the box into the bottom right corner. The remainder of the first half saw the Thunder searching for counterattacking opportunities, while their city rivals enjoyed more of the possession and slower build-up play. Wheaton attempted two more shots in the second half of the opening frame, but neither effort found the target, and North Park completed its turnaround before halftime with a go-ahead goal on 41 minutes. A quick team move down the left wing resulted in a teasing cross into the penalty area, and a near-post runner arrived on time to steer the ball home in the lower left side to put the Vikings up 2-1 heading into the break.
The regular season title winners picked up where they left off to begin the second period with noticeable attacking thrust, as NPU sought to extend its advantage on the scoreboard. This offensive pressure was rewarded in the 59th minute when another driving run down the left flank brought a Vikings attacker into the box. His deflected shot amidst pressure squeezed in at the near post to double North Park's lead.
The home side logged another attempt on target three minutes later, and the game felt firmly in control of the three-time finalists. But for the third match running, the Thunder refused to wilt in the face of adversity and found a way to claw back into the contest after a rapid momentum swing halfway through the second frame. Earning a corner kick opportunity in the 70th minute after Brown's goal-bound effort was blocked by a sliding defender, the ball was eventually recycled to the top of the box, and
David Vezza reacted quickly to rip a shot through traffic towards the bottom right corner. North Park's keeper adjusted in time to save this initial attempt but could only manage to push it into the path of the arriving
Reuben Bos. The sophomore lifted his first-time rebound over the sprawling shot-stopper to halve Wheaton's deficit.
Buoyed by a sizable and vocal traveling fan contingent and sensing the Vikings' unease, the Thunder stepped up their high press and managed to keep the ball in the attacking half of the field. Just five minutes after Bos' finish, the score was tied at 3-3 as a Thunder free kick was headed out of the box directly to the feet of
Cooper Falling. The Second Team All-Conference midfielder whipped an instinctive left-foot strike from 20 yards out through the crowd of defenders into the lower right corner to bring Wheaton level with his eighth goal of the year. This stunning rally by the underdogs meant that the destination of the trophy was once again up for grabs. After sitting back and absorbing pressure for much of the night up to that point, the Thunder suddenly felt free to grab a possible winning goal against the odds.
Wheaton conjured up two more good looks in front of goal in the following seven minutes from a cross into the center of the box that was lifted over the bar and a corner kick header that fell on the wrong side of the post. A North Park substitute attacker generated a pair of promising chances at the other end but could not hit the target on either occasion, and a roller coaster second half came to an end with the score tied at three goals apiece.
Tonight's extended contest marked the first occasion since 2013 that a CCIW Championship match required extra time. Which team would prevail with a walk-off golden goal was anyone's guess after the back-and-forth 90 minutes the Holmgren Complex crowd had just been treated to. But a winning goal did not arrive in the first 10-minute overtime block. The hosts controlled the balance of play and fired off four shot attempts and three corner kicks, but the Thunder back line held firm, and a second extra period proved a necessity.
Neither goalkeeper needed to make a save in a cagey second overtime frame, as the likelihood of a penalty kick shootout became apparent for both teams and few risks were taken with the stakes being so high. Saturday's 110 minutes of open play did not produce a winning side, so spot kicks were needed to determine the final outcome. After going three years without participating in a penalty shootout, Wheaton would face its second dead-ball series in the space of three days.
North Park chose to put their 6'5" junior goalkeeper in the net for the penalty kicks, and this decision proved a wise one, as the backup shot-stopper saved two of Wheaton's four attempts to lift his team to victory.
Brown took the Thunder's first try and scored his penalty with a crisp drive into the left side of the net. Piasecki canceled out the visitors' first miss with a good dive down to his right to reject NPU's third attempt. Falling then scored his second shootout penalty of the week from a confident blast into the right netting that knotted the tally up at 2-2. But another save by the Vikings' towering keeper sandwiched by two successful attempts were enough to give North Park their sixth all-time CCIW Tournament trophy and send the conference champions back to the NCAA stage.
The home side attempted 25 shots to the visitors' 16 this evening and put nine efforts on frame compared to the guests' five. North Park won the corner kick count, 10-6, and claimed 54% of the possession across the 110-minute match. A total of 42 fouls were called, and four yellow cards were handed out in tonight's heated rivalry clash. Both programs were well-represented among the 500-strong crowd that attended Saturday's dramatic championship game.
Piasecki finished his three-match run as Wheaton's starter at the end of this season by making six saves and one penalty kick denial, having impressed in the Thunder net over the last week.
Vander Kolk called time on his decorated three-year career with the Orange and Blue by tallying his tenth goal of the campaign, the most by any CCIW player this fall. He is the first Wheaton men's soccer player to reach double-figures in goals in back-to-back seasons since former All-American Stephen Golz did so in 2013-14.
Bos finished his sophomore year with four goals after tonight's strike that sparked the Thunder's comeback. Falling's equalizer saw him conclude the schedule with 19 total points this fall, second-most on the team behind Vander Kolk. The junior was one of just four Wheaton players to start all 20 matches this season.
Brown wrapped up a strong closing run to his sophomore year by earning two assists this evening. Eshw and Vezza also picked up assists and joined the Thunder's three goalscorers on one shot on target in Saturday's battle.
While Wheaton came agonizingly close to securing its first CCIW Tournament crown since 2014 and first NCAA Championship appearance since 2015, the team can head into the offseason with pride in how its last three matches unfolded and will look forward to plenty of returning talent and experience in the squad next fall.
