CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park men's soccer returned to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) National Top 25 on Tuesday afternoon, entering the poll at No. 23 as the Vikings prepare to close the regular season against Carroll University on Wednesday, October 28, at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.
The Vikings carry an 11-1-4 overall record and a 5-0-2 mark in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play into Wednesday's 7 p.m. kickoff. Since a season-opening loss at the University of Chicago, North Park has gone unbeaten in 15 consecutive matches.
A win over Carroll would guarantee North Park at least a share of the CCIW regular-season championship – its first since 2021- and one of the top two seeds in the conference tournament. That finish would give the Vikings a quarterfinal bye and the opportunity to host a CCIW semifinal on Wednesday, November 4. If North Park wins and North Central loses or draws with Augustana, North Park will claim the conference championship outright and secure the tournament's No. 1 seed. If both teams win, the next tiebreakers are conference goal differential (up to three points per match) and then goals allowed against conference opponents.
North Park enters the regular-season finale following a pair of decisive road victories. The Vikings held Elmhurst without a shot on goal in a 3-0 shutout on October 21, receiving goals from senior forward Carson Belcher, freshman forward Gustav Finér and senior forward Emil Svenander. The result marked North Park's eighth shutout of the season.
Three days later, North Park scored four times in the opening half of a 5-2 victory at Millikin. Belcher scored twice, while Finér, junior defender Dennis Rinne and sophomore midfielder Vilmer Af Klinteberg also found the net. The Vikings established season highs with 28 shots and 17 shots on goal while limiting the Big Blue to 11 total attempts.
Finér leads the North Park attack with seven goals, three assists and 17 points through 16 matches. Junior midfielder Bastian Eikeland follows with five goals and a team-leading five assists for 15 points, while Belcher has totaled six goals, two assists and 14 points. Four of Belcher's six goals have been game-winners.
Eikeland scored both North Park goals in a 2-2 draw at North Central on October 14, first finishing a feed from Finér before putting the Vikings ahead with a free-kick goal in the 63rd minute. North Park held a 14-12 advantage in shots and placed seven attempts on goal against the Cardinals.
Defensively, North Park has allowed 15 goals in 16 matches while posting eight shutouts. Sophomore goalkeeper Arvid Skoglund owns a 7-1-2 record with five solo shutouts, 34 saves and a 1.02 goals-against average. Junior goalkeeper Melker Regland is 4-0-2 with a 0.76 goals-against average and an .800 save percentage.
As a team, the Vikings have outscored their opponents 31-15 and hold advantages of 267-166 in total shots and 119-67 in shots on goal.
Wednesday's match against Carroll will begin at 7 p.m. CT at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.