The boys’ soccer team (15–1–1) crushed Winston Churchill (10–2) 3–0 on Tuesday night. 

After a great performance in the regional semifinals, the Vikings got their shot to win the regional finals against the Bulldogs and showed out. The Bulldogs were the only team the Vikes tied with in the regular season, so the Vikes knew they had a challenge ahead of them. 

The game started off with the Vikes getting the ball first and being instantly pressured by the Bulldogs players. This early pressure didn’t allow the Vikes to get into any type of rhythm, causing them to turn the ball over. The Bulldogs almost capitalized on this early turnover with a shot on goal, but sophomore goalie Elad Nahoom saved it. The Vikes got the ball back and started to build up some consistent passing, even with the relentless pressure from the Bulldogs. The Vikes were able to get a shot of their own on goal, but it was saved by the Bulldog keeper, keeping the score all tied up at zero. 

Both teams went back and forth until the Bulldogs got another chance inside the box with some blown coverage by the Vikings’ defense, but the Vikes were still able to stand strong and clear it. 

Later on in the first half, senior Alex Sincevich had a long pass to senior Sean Curran in the box, but Curran couldn’t get the ball in. The Bulldogs tried to answer against this previous attack from the Vikes and were able to keep the ball upfield until the vikes intercepted it and started to drive again. With this momentum, Sincevich got another shot on goal but it was saved again by the Bulldogs. 

Both teams started going back and forth with nobody being able to get the ball into the other goal until a controversial call by the referee gave the Bulldogs a free kick. The Bulldogs passed the ball towards the goal but it was defended by senior Sebastian Clemente. From this save, the Vikes got the ball back and senior Sergio Gomez gave Curran an almost perfect pass to set up a goal, but it was saved before Curran could take the shot. 

Towards the end of the first half, the Bulldogs got another chance off of a penalty shot that went into the box where a Bulldog tried to head the ball into the goal, but it went out of bounds. Once the Vikes got the ball down the field, senior Louis Pohle took a shot on the goal generated by the offensive pressure from the Vikes who must’ve sensed some urgency in the game, but it went out of bounds. 

Toward the end of the first half, the Vikes got the ball back and pushed hard toward the Bulldogs’ goal, but a Bulldog defender kicked it out of bounds. Senior Hayden Walsh took the throw-in and passed a great ball into the middle of the box that went past Curran’s head, which closed out the half. 

Seven minutes into the second half of the game, Gomez got a break away from the Bulldog defenders and had a shot on the goal, but missed. Not long after Gomez’s shot, Walsh got a header shot on the goal, but it was saved again by the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs began an attack of their own against the Vikes after having to defend two close shots, but junior Ignacio Aguilar Gonzalez, off of a slide tackle, kicked the ball out of bounds. When the Vikes eventually got the ball back downfield, junior Endric Lotsch got a tap-in goal that put up the first points of the game. For the next 20 minutes, the Vikes played heavy defensive soccer, making sure not to give up any shots on goal. The Bulldogs had some chances to score, but the Vikes defense showed out until senior Antonio Iarossi got subbed in for Curran. During the first few minutes of Iarossi’s time in the game, he got a ball from Lotsch on the right side of the field, and with the back of his foot, against two bulldog defenders, tapped the ball into the goal which gave the vikes a two-point lead late, almost surely securing their win. 

The Bulldogs had trouble answering right away and gave the ball back to the Vikes who got the ball to Sincevich who scored a great two-on-one goal with Iarossi, who was running with him, against the Bulldogs goalie. 

The Vikes kept their offensive pressure on throughout the rest of the game and won it. The Vikes will play next Friday against Bladensburg in the state quarter-finals.