by Marty Zier
Sports contributor
Volleyball
The Lady Vikings volleyball team dropped two matches last week to Friday Harbor and Darrington.
“We lost two close matches this last week against the Friday Harbor Wolverines, 3-0 and the Darrington Loggers, 3-1,” said Coach Rebekah Hardee. “The girls never gave up and played hard. There was not anyone who really stood out because they played as a team. We are looking forward to our senior match on Oct. 17 against Concrete and then Oct. 19 is our Pink Out Match highlighting breast cancer awareness along with the girls’ soccer team, raising money through Orcas Booster Club for the Willard Family.”
The Lady Vikings face extremes this week playing the win-less Concrete Lions at (0-7) and the unbeaten La Conner Braves at (7-0).
Girls soccer
The Lady Vikings soccer team had a better match-up against Friday Harbor compared to their last meeting but lost a close contest, 2-0, on Oct. 10.
Head coach Chris Doherty saw a dramatic improvement in his team.
“We had 60 percent of the possession time the first half but failed to score,” he said. “We are still lacking the scoring power that we are continually working towards. At half, it was 1-0 after the Wolverines scored on scrappy goal. In the second half, we continued to have a good passing game, but Friday Harbor came on strong in the late second half and scored from a long shot from the edge of the 18-yard box.”
As much as the offense still needs to improve scoring, Doherty sees the strength in his defense.
“Grace Gustafson, a ninth grader, had a stellar game right along with the rest of the defense, who are always solid,” he said. “Birdie Greening was outstanding in midfield and Haley Moss, passing to perfection. Soccer is a strange game; you can do everything right and after a couple moments you are down a goal.”
This week the (2-6) Vikings face the win-less Concrete Lions at (0-9) and La Conner, who rests tied at the top of the league at (8-1).
Men’s soccer
The men’s Viking soccer team hit a road bump, losing 1-0 to Friday Harbor on Oct. 10. Two days later, the Vikings played their island rival, the Lopez Lobos, and won 8-0.
“The biggest noteworthy aspect of the Lopez win for me would be that five different players scored goals and that four of the five are freshmen,” said Head coach Terry Turner. “Once again, our defenders did a great job and kept the opponents from scoring. The victory leaves us tied with Providence Classical Christian for the most goals scored by a team at 36 and also least goals allowed at eight. As we head towards our last regular games of the season and work to qualify for playoffs, I noticed that the players have notched up the intensity and seriousness in how they approached the last couple of practices. This was certainly reflected in the team’s outstanding performance against Lopez.”
The Vikings (7-3) face two teams near the bottom of the league this week; Grace Academy a (3-8) and La Conner at (2-8).
