After 13 years, Vikings finally defeat Sonoma State
DVC's professional announcer John Brown couldn't have said it better to the crown just before faceoff, "a battle between two heavyweights." The Vikings drew first blood, as Riley Ledin nailed the first goal just seconds into the game. Sonoma came right back and tied the game. After a score by Bryce Eade, the Vikings never surrendered the lead, but the victory never felt secure. The Vikings led 4-1 at the end of the first quarter, which gave an indication that the Vikings might just have a shot at defeating the Seawolves, a team wrapped with a history of MCLA Division 1 national championships, many playoff experiences, and the last team in California and Nevada that the Vikings had yet to defeat in their 14 year existence.
SSU scored at the beginning of the second quarter, and then the teams exchanged goals, to make it 5-3, but with 11:42 left in the half. The Vikings then reeled off three consecutive goals, making it 8-3 with 3:29 left in the half and made the crowd wonder if this was game was going to be a rout. The Seawolves however, and their champion pedigree, fought back with two straight goals to cut the deficit to 8-5, but with only :54 seconds left in the half, Max Kong scored making it a four-goal lead at the half, 9-5.
Sonoma State came out of halftime firing three goals in succession, to cut the lead to one, 9-8, and this battle between the "heavyweights" was ON! The momentum had clearly shifted to the Seawolves. However, the Vikings equally resilient and playing with the heart of champions responded with two straight goals to make it 11-8 with 6:10 left in the third quarter. After exchanging goals, the third quarter ended with the Vikings leading 12-9. Nobody had the feeling that this game was over, however.
Both defenses stiffened in the 4th quarter with only an exchange of goals during the first 10 minutes of the quarter. With 4:00 left in the game, a questionable penalty against the Vikings resulted in a man up opportunity for the Seawolves as the heavily partisan Viking crowd became nervous. Would this be the opportunity Sonoma State would need to get back in the game? Then the unthinkable happened. A second penalty against the Vikings resulted in two men down and a great opportunity for the Seawolves. After several attempts and precious seconds running down on the clock, the Seawolves eventually scored, making the score 13-11 DVC with 2:41 left in the game, and DVC still one man down on a non-releasable penalty. The Vikings who dominated the faceoffs during the game, won the subsequent crucial faceoff, killed the clock on the penalty and then Max Kong shot the dagger which clinched the game for the Vikings with less than a minute remaining to seal the Vikings' historic win.
Thank you to the great crowd that came out for the game, and thanks to the Sonoma State fans for coming out, who also witnessed this incredible match-up.
Next Game: Saturday October 2nd, at 1:00 p.m. at Viking Field. Hope you can make it!
