The boys soccer team (3–1–1) completed an incredible 3–2 golden goal comeback win against Wootton (1–2–1) home on Tuesday night in double overtime.

The hard-fought game started off with an early goal for the Patriots, who found the back of the net after a defensive mishap from the Vikes. After the unfortunate goal, the Vikes kept pushing and completely dominated the Patriots in ball possession and shots on target. The Vikes kept this style of play going throughout the first 40 minutes, but multiple impressive saves from the Patriots goalkeeper preserved the lead for Wootton. 

The second half was basically deja-vu of the first, with the Vikes unable to sneak anything past the Patriots. At around the 70-minute mark, the Patriots found were able to strike again, doubling their lead with their second goal on two shots on target. Per usual, the Vikes refused to quit and kept battling. A great header from junior Reimer Hoogeveen on a corner cross from senior Hugo Byrne cut their deficit in half and gave the Vikes hope. They used the momentum of the game in their favor and kept sending dangerous balls to the box. With just 30 seconds left to play, junior Davis Hackel found sophomore Juan Markarian on a throw-in who tied the game up at two, sending the game into overtime.

After the first overtime period elapsed, neither team was able to score, sending the match into double overtime. This was the second straight double overtime match for the Vikes, and this time they were able to go home happy. With just two minutes remaining, senior Luke Kullback gave the Vikes the golden goal victory on a penalty kick, finalizing a nerve-wracking comeback win. 

Junior Tyler Coune said that as soon as they scored the equalizing goal, the team was confident they would take home the victory in overtime.

“The whole game we kept getting shots after shots after shots,”’ Coune said. “After Juan tied up the game with seconds to go the whole stadium was buzzing and it definitely gave us a lot of confidence to complete the win.”

The Vikes will host the talented Churchill Bulldogs (4–1) on Friday afternoon in the annual community night game. Both teams have started off the season strong, and it will be a great match for the community to watch together.