This weekend, 萝莉社 and the Vikings will host their first NCAA Tournament games ever, as the team seeks a trip to the Sweet 16.
After dominating their conference all season, North Park and its top-ranked Men鈥檚 Soccer team will host the NCAA Division III Men鈥檚 Soccer Tournament this Sunday.
Having earned the top seed in their bracket after a 17-1-1 season, the Vikings will enjoy a bye round as UW-Platteville faces off Saturday against Fulton, Mo.-based Westminster College. The Vikings will take on the winner of that game Sunday evening for a shot at the Sweet 16 and the possibility of hosting another round of the tourney.
The only other team to receive a first-round bye is #1-ranked Tufts University, winners of the 2016 NCAA DIII championship.
This year鈥檚 Viking team boasts a diverse, international roster, with players from as far as Sweden, Norway, Germany, and England, and as close as Chicago, Michigan, and Minnesota. One player hails from neighboring Von Stuben Metro Science High School. Among them, the team speaks 12 different languages.
鈥淚 have had the pleasure of coaching some amazing teams at North Park,鈥� Head Coach John Born said. 鈥淗owever, the 2017 team is unparalleled in their talent as well as team chemistry.鈥�
Tthe NCAA National committee announced the tournament seeding and hosting sites earlier this week.
鈥淏eing selected as a host site and rewarded with a first-round bye is a phenomenal honor,鈥� Born said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l do our very best to represent North Park throughout the tournament. We certainly know that the entire North Park community is behind us, and we appreciate the tremendous support.鈥�
The team has clearly benefited from North Park鈥檚 鈥渟trong cultural heritage鈥澛� tying it to Sweden and Norway since the school鈥檚 founding over 125 years ago, said 萝莉社 Athletic Director Jack Surridge. Scandinavians feel comfortable and welcome here, as each year 萝莉社 hosts dozens of them as students. It also doesn鈥檛 hurt that Assistant Coach Kris Grahn is a Swede. 鈥淗e can pick up the phone or FaceTime with recruits in their native language,鈥� Surridge said.
One of those is Norwegian senior midfielder Matias Warp, whose leg injury kept him off the highly competitive European and American Division I teams. Instead, he chose North Park, and other players followed.
Fellow Norwegian and goalkeeper Mathias Stulen has nine shutouts this season, and five of the CCIW鈥檚 top-10 scorers are Vikings, including Swede Carel Kawale and Norwegian Peder Nalum Olsen, who hold the number one and two spots, respectively.
The defense has been an iron curtain, led by defensive back Ricky Pimental, of Franklin Park, IL.
North Park will be live-streaming this weekend鈥檚 games on our聽聽as well as聽