*By Elliot Markus*
Girls Soccer defeated the Northwest Jaguars, 2-1, Sept 30, improving their record to 5-2.
The game was highlighted by the return of junior goalie Hannah Sasscer who has not played all season after being diagnosed with a brain cyst in the pre-season. Sasscer led the defense early and did not lose a step from her absence. She had several key saves that kept the Lady Vikes in the game.
Multiple giveaways by each team was the story early on, but after about 10 minutes both teams settled into the game and kept possession for long amounts of time. The Jaguars took advantage of a Lady Vikes defensive miscommunication, and slid the ball to the right of Sasscer, taking the lead in the 26th minute.
In the second half, the Vikes pushed the ball forward in hopes of equalizing the score but had controversial offside calls, killing their counter attack.
The Lady Vikes fought through the Jags defensive barrier when junior Tessa Morrison chipped ball over the goalie’s head to tie the game at one.
Later in the half, sophomore Emily Yin took a shot from far outside the box and expected the goalie to cover it easily, but the ball tipped the goalie’s gloves and slid through her legs for the go ahead goal with only four minutes remaining.
In the final minutes the Vikes held strong defensively and secured the victory
“The fact that we came back from being down 1-0 says a lot about our perseverance,” says forward Lucy Arledge.
The Lady Vikes take the field next on Monday, Oct 5, at archrival Churchill.
