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North Branch 3, Irondale 2

On the strength of Brian Grand's hat trick, the Vikings beat Irondale 3-2 at home on Thursday, September 4.

The Vikings tied Irondale 2-2 last year and needed an excellent performance by goalkeeper Austin Holmes and stellar defensive teamwork to secure the victory. Holmes seems to have completely recovered from his shoulder injury.

Totino Grace 6, North Branch 0

Viking head coach Peter Grand commented before the September 8 game that the visit to Minnesota powerhouse Totino-Grace is always a highlight of the season for his soccer teams. "I am always impressed by their outstanding hospitality and sportsmanship," he said. And Bill Vance, the Totino-Grace head coach, proved it when he asked Grand after the game if it would be okay to talk with the Vikings players. Grand agreed instantly. What the Eagles coach shared, with the team that had just lost 6-0, was that this was the best North Branch team that had ever played against Totino Grace.

"And he was right," said Grand. "We were only down by one at halftime on an unnecessary goal. We played an extremely disciplined 40 minutes. That the final result was a clear verdict once again had to do with depth on the bench, age difference and a lack of maturity to finish a game, like allowing two goals in the last three minutes."

And without a highlight-reel save by the Totino-Grace goalkeeper on a through ball from Brian Grand to Tony Ceroll, the Vikings would have even scored a well earned consolation goal.

North Branch 7, Columbia Heights 5 (2OT)

Brian Grand once again led the way, scoring five goals and assisting on the other two to lead the Vikings to a 7-5 overtime win over Columbia Heights Thursday, September 11 at North Branch.

The Vikings burst out of the gate, scoring three goals first in 15 minutes on their way to a 4-1 halftime lead. Grand scored three and David Cunningham scored the other, assisted by Grand. The Hylanders scored two early in the second half to make the score 4-3. On the kickoff following the third Hylander goal, Grand launched a 50 yard bomb into the net to give the Vikings a two-goal lead.

The Hylanders scored two more goals to even the score. They nearly came away with a win, but goalkeeper Austin Holmes made a crucial save with seconds left to preserve the tie and send the game into overtime.

In high school soccer, if teams are tied at the end of regulation they play two five minute overtimes. The overtimes are not sudden death overtimes; the teams play the full 0 minutes. That's how the Vikings were able to win by two in overtime. Brian Grand scored his fifth goal of the game to put the Vikings up 6-5, and Nick Miller scored an insurance goal, assisted by Grand, to make the final score North Branch 7, Columbia Heights 5.

"This was probably the worst game of our season" said coach Peter Grand. "Everybody played down except for goalkeeper Austin Holmes. Only our first 15 minutes of play and the ten minutes of overtime were acceptable. But sometimes you even win ugly games. At the break, I warned the players about taking a win for granted and urged everybody to stay focused. But it was not a night the Vikings played at their best. So the Hylanders were able to come back. One of the crazier soccer games at North Branch stadium went into overtime and when it was most needed we were able to deliver our best."

NB 3, Duluth Denfeld 1

Coming off their win against Columbia Heights on the weekend, the Vikings had to travel to the air-conditioned city of Duluth to take on the Duluth Denfeld Hunters. Just two minutes into the game, on a very rainy day, the Vikings were granted a free kick at midfield and Drew Lundquist delivered a beautiful high ball into the goal box. Tony Ceroll was the quickest to the ball and the boys from North Branch went ahead early. Coach Grand said "This, of course, ruined any game plans the boys from the north might have had and allowed us to focus on solid defense." But Duluth set plays and long flanks proved to be very dangerous during the first 40 minutes. The Vikings were lucky when the Hunters were called offside after hitting the crossbar.

Late in the first half Brian Grand, who was closely man-marked during the entire game, found an open gap outside the 18 yard box and risked a shot on goal that bounced off Nick Miller's back and found the back of the Duluth net. "At half time, said coach Grand, "I told my players how pleased I was about their discipline on the field. Everybody was working hard trying to press up and close spaces. I also talked about not allowing the Hunters any more set plays around the penalty area."

Grand's concerns proved correct when Duluth scored with a flick on a corner kick. At that time, Brian Grand was sidelined with a slight knee injury after a Hunter (with his cleats on) stepped on Grand while Grand was lying on the ground. After a father-son chat, the Vikings coach decided to put the scoring leader of the North Suburban Conference out again. The risk paid off just minutes later when Brian Grand scored on a long cross from Miller to put the Vikings up by two again. It turned out to be the final margin of victory. The 3-1 win over Denfeld brought the Vikings' record above .500. Coach Grand said, "What really impressed me tonight was how disciplined the whole team worked not allowing Duluth Denfeld to develop its quick combination play."

The Vikings (4-3 overall, 2-3 conference) play their next home game tonight (Sept. 18) at 5 p.m. against Saint Francis.

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