Ben Lyons dribbing past defenders vs. Blackburn 09/08/24

Men’s Soccer Takes on No. 16 North Park

Game is set for 7:30 p.m. at Holmgren Athletic Complex

10/11/2024 12:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With an unblemished season so far, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's soccer team faces its toughest challenge Saturday, Oct. 12 against College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe and 16th-ranked North Park University. The match time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Holmgren Athletic Complex, following the Titan women's match at 5 p.m. in Chicago.

The Titans, who are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll, have not seen a loss this season as they are 8-0-2 on the year and 2-0 in conference play. The Vikings have had an 8-1-4 season thus far and are 2-1-1 in league play. Illinois Wesleyan currently leads the CCIW with its exceptional start to conference play while North Park currently ranks fourth in league standings.

IWU has just come off of its second CCIW triumph this season after defeating the Thunder of Wheaton College Wednesday, Oct. 9. The Green and White took a 2-0 victory over the Thunder at Joe Bean Stadium with goals coming from senior Mush Bakirdan (Morton, Ill.-Morton), the reigning CCIW Offensive Player of the Week, and junior Logan Tierney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community).

NPU also comes off a conference win against Elmhurst University after an early goal in the 12th minute notched the 1-nil victory.

The Titans and Vikings have seen two of the same teams this season in Wheaton College and Kalamazoo College. The Titans tied Kalamazoo in their season opener while the Vikings took a 3-1 victory over the Hornets. Illinois Wesleyan, however, recently defeated Wheaton, while North Park saw a setback against the Thunder as they lost 1-0 just a week prior, marking NPU's only loss of the season.

IWU and NPU's history dates back to 1988, with the Vikings taking the overall series record of 27-9-3. In the most recent meeting, both teams met in the CCIW tournament quarterfinals where, at the end of the game, the score was tied at 2-2. The game ended in PKs with Ryan Miller scoring the last PK to send the Green and White to the CCIW tournament semifinals.

Both a live stream and live stats will be available for the contest and are available on the men's soccer schedule page of iwusports.com or by clicking here.

Print Friendly Version