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During the last five games, the Vikings (2-8-2 overall, 1-6-1 conference) have allowed just six goals. Unfortunately, they only scored two. "At the beginning of the season, the girls were struggling with my defensive-minded lineup," said Viking head coach Peter Grand. "The 1-1 tie against St. Francis (1-1 OT) and the 0-0 tie against neighboring Cambridge-Isanti showed them that the concept works if everyone plays disciplined. My defense and goalkeeper Rikki Beaver worked really hard in those games."

Coach Grand thought that two of the five games, Robbinsdale-Cooper and St. Croix Lutheran, should have been wins instead of close losses. "Defensively, we have become more stable," he said. "The problem is that we are not able to score. We definitely need to work on finishing before we go into sections."

Spring Lake Park 2, NB 0

Last year, the former state champion Panthers crushed the Vikings 10-0. The Vikings planned to show more resistance this season.

Grand said "I made it very clear that we would not allow the Panthers to win in double digits." In the second half, the Vikings had a couple of good breakaways with Bradi Herdina hitting the post once. Grand continued, "Playing a more defensive minded game at the beginning and then switching to a 4-4-2 formation worked out pretty well, but it is difficult to control such a talented group of girls for 80 minutes. This was also the first time in my coaching career that I played an eighth grader on varsity. Bayley Ertl has shown, on the C team, what scoring potential she has, and I wanted her to sniff some varsity air. I think she did pretty well." The C team, coached by Ashley Steele with the help of volunteer assistant Paul Pignato, has played with seven eighth graders all season long and has an impressive 10-1-0 record. Even though the C team often had to play teams that showed up with their JV squad, their only loss this season has been to Totino race.

Grand said, "I think the future for girls' soccer in North Branch looks bright. I am very impressed by those middle school girls and their mostly freshman teammates."

The Vikings will play their last home game of the season tonight (Oct. 2) at 6 p.m. on the old varsity field against as they take on the Academy of Sciences and Agriculture, a non-conference opponent. And they'll finish the regular season Monday, October 6 at St. Louis Park (9-4-2 overall, 5-3-0 conference) at 5 p.m.

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