Rock Bridge High School out of Columbia, Mo., handed both Viking squads their first loss of the season on Sept. 9. Kicking off at 9 a.m., the JV team battled hard against a very physical Rock Bridge squad. The Vikings, however, could not find a way to slow down their opponent or put the ball past the Rock Bridge defense. In the end, the Rock Bridge offense put its team on top, 4-0.

In similar fashion, while even dominating the first 20 minutes of play, the Viking varsity could not break down a rock-solid Rock Bridge defense to get on the scoreboard first. In a frustrating turn of events, the first time Rock Bridge made a real attack on the Viking goal, the ball found the back of the net.

Rock Bridge scored two more times over the next 50 minutes of play while repeatedly shutting down Viking scoring attempts. Finally, however, with 16 minutes left in the game, a corner kick from Tom Marlow was sent past the Rock Bridge keeper on a header by Matt Beckett.

With renewed energy, the Vikings turned up the heat, again creating numerous offensive opportunities that just could not get past the opponent’s swarming defense. At the end of 80 minutes, it was Rock Bridge 3, the Vikings 1.