CHICAGO, IL (September 10, 2007) – The initial night football game at North Park University’s Holmgren Athletic Complex resulted in a 14-0 defeat for the Vikings to visiting Benedictine University Saturday night.
Sophomore Shelby Wood completed 11 of his 23 passes for 104 yards and sophomore Kelvyn West ran for 79 yards at the complex’s Ted Hedstrand Field, but North Park was unable to overcome the 204 yards and two touchdowns from Benedictine’s Ryan Schwartz. His 16-yard run six seconds into the second quarter provided all of the points his team would need and he added a touchdown from three yards out midway through the third period.
Still, the home team’s defense played well, holding Benedictine to just four net yards passing and one completion. J.R. Estell had an interception for the Vikings and Ray Decatur had seven solo tackles and four assists to highlight the defense’s efforts. Unfortunately, three Benedictine interceptions, including one deep in North Park territory in the third period, kept the Vikings from taking advantage of their defense’s stellar play.
North Park (0-1) returns to action on Saturday during 1 p.m. non-conference action in central Illinois against Eureka College.
In other sports news last weekend involving North Park teams:
• The 12th rated Vikings split a pair of men’s soccer games in Michigan at the Cal Bergsma Memorial Tournament, beating the host school, Calvin College, 2-0 on Friday before dropping a 1-0 decision to Hope College on Saturday. Alex Summers and Nathan Ryan scored the goals for the Vikings in the opener while goalkeeper Dan Tuls recorded two saves in the victory. Wheaton College beat both Calvin and Hope over the weekend to win the four-team tourney. On Wednesday, head coach John Born’s team opens its home schedule with a 7 p.m. non-conference match-up with Concordia University of Chicago.
• North Park’s volleyball team traveled to Winona, Minnesota, to play in the Jefferson’s Sugar Loaf Classic on Friday and Saturday, winning two of four matches to move to 5-3 on the season. On Friday, the Vikings lost to Luther College (Iowa) three games to one despite 23 kills by Yaifeh Chafeh. They lost to the host team, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, three games to one as Chafeh totaled 21 digs and 13 kills and teammate Mallory Bieritz had 17 kills while setter Caitlin O’Connell dished out 29 assists and served three aces. On Saturday, North Park defeated Marian College of Wisconsin 30-27, 30-27, 30-20 behind the 24 kills by Chafeh. The Vikings finished the weekend by whipping Crown College of Minnesota 30-15, 30-15, 30-27 as Chafeh and Bieritz had 13 kills each and O’Connell doled out 33 assists.
• In women’s soccer, North Park played a pair of games last weekend at the SIT Engineering Cup in Hoboken, New Jersey. The Vikings lost 6-1 to New York University on Saturday as Christy Johnson scored the lone North Park goal. A day later, NPU played Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in the consolation game of the tourney, losing 5-1 despite a goal by Amanda Wallden. On Friday at 7 p.m., North Park hosts Albion College of Michigan in a non-conference match.
• Also, the NPU cross country program hosted the Ted Hedstrand Invitational, but results were not immediately available.
More information on various sports activities can be found at the North Park University athletics website.
