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Boys soccer was eliminated from the playoffs after a 2–0 loss against Walter Johnson. Throughout the game the Vikes created offensive chances, but the lock-down Wildcat defense was too much.
In the first half, the Vikings had the majority of possession time. Defender John Lydon, who was coming off an injury riddled season, was key to slowing the WJ offense leading to a scoreless first half.
However, the Wildcats owned the second half. Walter Johnson scored on a corner with about 25 minutes left to play. Afterwards they sat back on defense, blocking almost all of the opportunities that the explosive Viking offense could produce.
The closest the Vikes got to scoring was close to halfway through the second half, when forward Daniel Kjartannsson had a one-on-one with the keeper. Coming up on the left side, Kjartannsson shot to the far post, and it was all but certain he would score. Just before the ball would cross the line, Walter Johnson defender Zac Labonski made an immaculate save, clearing the shot away at the last possible second.
As time began to expire, the Vikes got more and more desperate, bringing more and more defenders up the field, leaving deadly gaps that the Walter Johnson attackers took advantage of.
“I think we didn’t get back into the game mentally after they scored and didn’t play our game after their goal,” defender Oliver Panlibuton said. “We were unlucky not to finish some chances too.”
With under two minutes left WJ scored a dagger goal on counter-attack right after a Viking goal kick. The Wildcats were away on goal, and their attacker had an easy finish, as the Viking defenders were on the offensive side.
“I felt like this season went really well,” Deutchman said. “We had a ton of team chemistry, we all played really well together. There will be a lot of good players returning next year, so I feel like we have a good chance to go far next year too.”