by Marty Zier

Sports contributor

Women’s soccer

The Lady Vikings lost to La Conner, 5-1, on Oct. 3.

Anticipating a tough matchup, head coach Chris Doherty was pleased with his team’s effort and felt his Vikings improved over their last meeting against the Braves.

“Even though we lost, we were on form with some great passing, good vision and form,” he said. “We were down two of our better players so the girls had to shift around and make it work. Destiny Wright filled in for us and played a great game. We had to move Chela Scheckel-Mohler to midfield, she stuck to the game plan and just having her in midfield made everyone more confident.”

Aside from the loss, Doherty was very pleased with the highlight of the game when Viking defender Joie Zier scored a free kick from about 20 yards out after having a penalty kick successfully defended by the Brave keeper earlier in the game.

“I don’t remember ever scoring a goal against La Conner. In the back of my mind I was thinking I would love to score on this keeper because she is really good, really good. It was a great free kick in the upper left corner,” said Doherty.

The Lady Vikings lost at home to Mt. Vernon Christian, 3-1, on Oct. 5.

Although the ladies lost, the team’s play and passing continued to improve and Doherty felt that his team’s performance was an improvement over the last meeting with the Hurricanes.

“This was one of our best overall passing games with good control,” he said. “Our defenders and midfield intercepted a majority of their offensive drives and most scores resulted from the chaos of a group of players kicking in front of our goal where it’s hard for the keeper to track of the ball. We had some good offensive plays and Camryn Thompson’s fast solo break and goal was the highlight of the game.”

The (2-5) Vikings face (6-1) Friday Harbor this week along with (0-7) Concrete.

Men’s soccer

The Viking men’s soccer team rattled the two league leaders last week with back to back wins against Providence Classical Christian and Mt. Vernon Christian.

Having lost to Providence 2-1 in the second game of the season, the Vikings were determined to prove they could beat the NW1A/2B league leader in their second match. Head coach Terry Turner did his homework and prepared his team for Providence’s scripted attack.

“They definitely focused their attack down the left side in our previous match up, dumping through ball after through ball to their fast wing forward, but we moved Ciaran O’Neal into position to make the stops,” said Turner. “Knowing their biggest threat, we practiced defending that attack on the wing during the week. O’Neal defended wonderfully, he has great speed and he out-paced their attack on every play.”

Providence Christian started the game with a lot of momentum and managed to strike first on an explosive goal, but Turner said his Vikings fought back.

“We focused on controlling the possession, quick defense breaking passing and switching the point of attack,” he said. “The pressure paid off with Orcas striker Daniel Keyes beating his marker to finish on a cross field throw in from Levi Moss. The goal was Keyes’ third in as many matches. Orcas also turned up the heat with our tough defending.”

Regular time ended with a 1-1 tie and after a frenetic scoreless sudden death overtime in front of the home crowd, Viking goalkeeper Kupono Anuenue made the big saves to seal the win 2-1 after six penalty kicks.

The Vikings previously lost to Mt. Vernon Christian in the third game of the season, but were challenged by a different Hurricane attack.

“Mt. Vernon Christian is always extremely tough to beat at home and had seven shutouts in their last eight games,” said Turner. “The Hurricanes surprised us and came out with an aggressive fast counter attack and scored the first goal early, a very different game plan from their defensively oriented style in our first game. We made a tactical adjustment to move one of our defenders and one midfielder farther up the field by moving the speedy O’Neal to midfield and bring his intensity into the attack on Mt. Vernon’s goal. Midway into the second half O’Neal made the move pay on a corner kick from Levi Moss, launching a looping shot back over his shoulder and into the MVC goal, bringing the score back to even.”

For the second game in a row the Vikings came from behind, ending regular and overtime in a draw with the match to be determined by penalty kicks, but Turner had confidence in his goal keeper, Anuenue.

The (7-2) Vikings play (5-4) Friday Harbor and (3-6) Lopez this week.

Volleyball

The lady Vikings volleyball team lost to La Conner 3-0 on Oct. 3.

Head coach Rebekah Hardee said this was not one of her team’s best performances against the undefeated league leader.

“We had an off day against the Braves,” she said. “We did not show up today to play our best. It was just one of those games. We are still trying to figure out how this happens so we can avoid it. No communication, lack of confidence and low energy. However, we will show up to play Mt. Vernon Christian, you can be sure.”

And the Vikings did in front of their home crowd at Orcas High School, beating the MVC Hurricanes 3-2 on Oct. 5.

The (3-3) Vikings play (3-2) Friday Harbor and (4-1) Darrington this week, two of the top teams, chasing league leader La Conner.

Soccer photos by Mandi Johnson; volleyball photos by Cali Bagby