Knights and the Long Beach Vikings come out last after losing their previous games 2-1 and 4-0 respectively, but this time in an intense fight the Vikings outmatched their opponents by taking control of the field while the Knights made a titanic effort to keep Vikings’ scores down on Sept. 1.
The Vikings made the first important move of the game with a surprising shot on goal during the second minute of the game from freshman forward Savanna Christensen.
A few minutes later, Vikings sent the ball to penalty area and freshman defender Nikki Voulgaris, who was marked, sent a header that went outside the Knights net.
The Knights prepared a counter-attack and freshman midfielder Cruz-Zamarripa got into Viking defense, and hit the ball that ended up far away from the porter’s lodge.
After several shots on goal freshman forward Katin Trowbridge sent a header to the net opening the scoreboard and scoring their first goal for the Vikings
At the 14 minute mark, the Vikings had a side throw-in near to Knights’ net. The ball rebounded on the grass and Nikki Voulgaris got control of the ball and hit it with her right leg, scoring the second point for the Vikings.
The rest of the first time Vikings spent the time trying to score more goals to secure their game while Knights fought hard to keep them away. They went through several times and when the defense couldn’t stop them the hands of freshman goalie Rose Haunter did.
The second half the game was more dynamic and intense with the Vikings wanting more goals and the Knights hungry to score one. It was still evident Vikings were controlling the field but this time the Knights pushed more, forcing their rivals that to spend more energy accomplishing their moves.
“I liked the way my team played keeping the formation, putting their position in the floor… I just hoped they scored more goals to get more confidence,” Vikings coach Sean Reeves said.
There were spans of time in which players from both teams spent more time time in the midfield where the ball was rolling from one player to another player, and then to another one in a series of movements of recovering and stealing the ball.
The last 10 minutes were the most intense on the field, with the Knights spending most of the time from the halfway line to the penalty arch trying to score but the Vikings blocked all their attempts.
Knights coach Andi Milburn wasn’t disappointed, her players did their best and kept the score low. The Knights were able to play with most of their defenders injured and a small roster composed of 17 players instead of 25.
“It’s difficult because you have to make players play in positions they aren’t used to,” Milburn said.
Overall the Vikings had three times more shots on goal than Knights but despite it, they dominated the game. The Knights gave them a good batle that left the Vikings unable to score more goals during the second half leaving the final score 2-0, where the numbers had remained since the first half.
