The Niles North boys soccer players sprinted past sister school Niles West Tuesday night (Oct.2) at Chuck Pos stadium to take the Chicago Suburban League Crossover title.

Niles West is in last place of the south division, and now has a record of 2 wins, 11 losses, and 3 ties. Niles North is in fourth place of the north division with a record of 4 wins, 8 losses, and 5 ties.

The  game started out very slowly, with only one shot on goal in the first 25 minutes of the half. With 12 minutes on the clock  junior, striker, and the team’s top scorer  Ivan Korkes was assisted by senior, defense Kevin Lubowich. Once receiving the ball, Korkes says, he used his speed to get past West’s sweeper, and took a shot.  “I wanted it more than the defender and it felt great to score against the rival,” Korkes said.

In the first half only one other shot on goal was made, by senior Danny Joseph. The first half ended with a score of 1-0 Vikings.

Two minutes into the second half Joseph scored the second goal of the game. The teams’ defenses played protectively for the next 30 minutes until West managed to drive one into the net with under two minutes on the clock. “We won the game because we played like a single unit, and we put our hearts into the game, we weren’t going to walk off that field unless we got the win,” said junior, defense Carlos Santos.

In a power struggle through the chilly weather West made several unsuccessful attempts at goals. With six seconds on the clock, Lubowich kicked the ball out-of-bounds with the clock running to end the game, a 2-1 Vikings victory.

The Vikings head to Niles West next Tuesday to take on the Wolves again, and retain their hard-won title.