The boys soccer team was ousted in a close game Oct. 8, losing a 2-1 battle with the 8-1-1 Wootton Patriots, shifting their record to 7-2.

The Vikings came out quickly and aggressively, but dropped a goal to the Patriots 20 minutes into the first half. Both teams fought for the remainder of the half, but the score remained 1-0 at halftime.

Captain Spencer Meschter instantly tied the game at the beginning of the second half off a corner kick from midfielder Andrew Wagman, but then the drama started to pick up.

With the score tied 1-1 in the 60th minute and both teams jockeying for possession of the ball, defender Ed Smith received a red card on a controversial call when he supposedly elbowed a Wootton defender in the back of the head. Wootton coach Doug Schuessler approached Smith after the game and agreed that the card was unwarranted.

“It was a bad call and so we played with 10 men,” Wagman said. “However, we still pushed the offensive and created many opportunities that we just barely missed capitalizing on.”

Despite being a man down, the Vikes pushed the game to overtime, but couldn’t score another goal or hang onto the tie, as Wootton found the back of the Viking net late in the extra period.

The Vikes will look to recover from the loss, their second in four games, Oct. 10 at home when they take on their division rivals, the 9-0 Walter Johnson Wildcats.