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Thursday, September 02, 2010
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| | Email this article • Print this article | Vikes net six scores against Bluejackets
BY CHUCK FITZER
After the Viking girls' soccer team beat Cambridge-Isanti in the season opener at Cambridge last Saturday afternoon, one of the Viking players took a picture of the scoreboard with her cell phone camera. She said "None of my friends would believe me that we beat Cambridge-Isanti 6-0, so I had to take a picture."
The players' friends were certainly aware that Cambridge had beaten the Vikings 15-0 just four years ago. But the fortunes of the two teams have gone in opposite directions. The Vikings have shown steady improvement since the arrival of head coach Peter Grand, and the graduation of star players has led to the current struggles of the young Bluejacket team.
On Saturday, the Vikings came out strong with the wind at their backs and took an early 2-0 lead. They added another goal late in the half to make it 3-0 at the intermission. "At halftime," said Grand, "I reminded the team that the game would not be ending in our favor if we did not continue to play strong." The Bluejackets put forth a spirited effort to get back in the game for the first ten minutes of the second half, but the Vikings' attacks started rolling again, resulting in another three goals.
Six different players scored for the Vikings: Alina Amunrud, Jessica Audette, Rebecca Collins, Alyssa Donohue, Bradi Herdina and Molly Pignato. "This was a nice start," said Grand. "We got up quickly on them and played well."
Coach Grand has created what he calls the "Opponent Player Awards". After every game he shares his thoughts about the best players on the opponent's team with their coach. On Saturday, he gave the Opponent Player Awards to Bluejackets Courtney Moore, Roxanne Holmberg, Samantha Samsa and Jordan Ramey.
The Vikings were scheduled to play at Forest Lake on Tuesday, September 1.
They open conference play today by traveling to Chisago Lakes at 5 p.m. to take on the Wildcats. Both teams have shown significant improvement over the past couple of years, making the local rivalry more fun to watch. Grand said "It's interesting that our first three games of the year are against or three local rivals - Chisago Lakes, Cambridge and Forest Lake." Next Tuesday, September 8, the Vikings will host another conference opponent, Fridley, at 5 p.m. at North Branch.
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