ERIKSSON GOALS LIFT NORTH PARK TO FIRST EVER CCIW TITLE WITH 2-0 WIN OVER WHEATON IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

WHEATON, Illinois – P.J. Eriksson tallied a pair of goals in each half to lift North Park to its first ever College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin men’s soccer championship. Eriksson’s heroics gave the Vikings of head coach John Born a 2-0 victory over Wheaton on Saturday, November 6 at East McCully Field on the Wheaton College campus.

Not only did North Park win its first ever conference championship in men’s soccer, it also snapped a streak of nine straight years where the Thunder had either won or shared the title. All was not lost for veteran head coach Joe Bean’s charges however, as Wheaton earned the CCIW’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III playoffs. That came based on a point total that gave the Thunder a total of 24 points based on seven league wins in the regular season and one in the tournament. North Park totaled 19 points with four wins and a tie in the regular season and two victories in the tournament.

Eriksson’s first goal came midway through the first half and his second, off an assist by Adam Johnson, came with just under 15 minutes to play in the game. North Park was 14-3-2 overall this year.

Earlier in the week North Park defeated Elmhurst 2-1 on November 2 in one semi-final while Wheaton was thrashing Carthage 8-2 in the other semi on the same day. Wheaton will head into the NCAA playoffs with a 17-4 overall record.