The Parkview Lady Vikings beat new District opponent the Branson Pirates on Monday night 6-1. Shelby Stewart started off the scoring in the first two minutes of the match by beating a defender before slotting the ball past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Kelsey Loderhose also had two first half goals, with both assists coming from Jessica Maerz. The half ended with a 3-0 score.

In the second half the Vikings gave up a goal and scored three more of their own. Jessica Maerz scored a goal with the assist from Holly Messick, followed by Molly Robb’s first goal of the season on an assist from Elyssa Williamson. Robb has started the last three games for the Vikings in place of the injured Melanie Allen. The final goal came unassisted from Maerz again.

Scoring summary: Jessica Maerz 2g 2a, Kelsey Loderhose 2g, Shelby Stewart 1g, Molly Robb 1g, Holly Messick 1a, Elyssa Williamson 1a.

The Junior Varsity squad tied their match 1-1. The Vikings scored first with a great goal coming early in the match. Amanda Leckrone lofted a ball over two defenders, and Alex Shupert ran onto it, took a touch, and drilled the ball past the keeper into the back of the net. The Vikings got a bit self-satisfied though, and didn’t bother finishing any more chances in either half (and there were many to finish). Parkview gave up a break-away goal in the second half, and couldn’t get back on top. The JV is now 4-3-2.

Scoring summary: Alex Shupert 1g, Amanda Leckrone 1a

Both squads play again on Tuesday night against Glendale, with the JV kicking off at 5:00pm, and the Varsity to follow around 6:30pm. The matches are being played at Cooper 2 (Lake Country).

The Vikings’ first half looked quite similar to the previous game, as they spent a lot of time defending and not much time offensively on their way to a 0-2 halftime deficit against a very strong Jefferson City team. The encouraging thing about the match this time was how the Vikings battled back. In the hole 0-2, Parkview figured out some things defensively, which led to some connected passes and a few offensive chances for the Vikings. At one point, still down two goals, Shelby Stewart found Meaghan Allen on the right left wing, and Allen was able to cut in and finish with a low hard-struck far post ball (pictured above). After the score stayed 1-2 for a strong portion of the second half, the Vikings gave up one more goal late to lose 1-3. Parkview had a much improved second in this match, and showed that they were figuring things out defensively- something that they can learn from and carry forward in other big games this season.

The Ozark vs. Parkview games was canceled due to the weather conditions. Neither team forfeited, as the coaches agreed that after playing only a week ago there was no point in risking injuries just to squeeze in a meaningless rain-soaked match.

The Vikings play next against Branson at home (JFK). The JV squads will play first at 5:30pm, with the Varsity teams to follow around 7:00pm.

After going down 0-2 at half, the Vikings battled back and found themselves down 2-3 midway through the second half. Shelby Stewart scored two goals to keep the Viking close, both on through-balls followed by Shelby burning a defender with speed and beating the keeper in 1 v. 1 situations. The defense was not able to hold up, however, and the Vikings gave up 5 goals in the second half to lose 2-7.

Goal Summary: Shelby Stewart 2g

Parkview plays Jefferson City on Saturday morning at 9:45am, and Ozark at 4:00pm.

The other KHS Tourney scores can be found at www.sgfsoccer.com.

The brackets for the KHS tournaments can be found on their website.

The Lady Vikings went to Laquey and picked up a 3-0 win on Thursday night. The Vikings did not play their best soccer of the season, struggling at times to finish and connect passes on a surface they weren’t accustomed to, but will need to find a way to play better soccer this weekend at the Kickapoo tournament. Melanie Allen scored the first goal when she took the ball on the right side of the field and shot a beautiful far-post ball that made it past the keeper and into the net for a 1-0 lead. Shelby Stewart also scored, as well as getting a nice assist to the birthday girl as Stewart lofted a ball over the defender and straight to Jessica Maerz, who was able to hit a volley straight into the back of the net. Caylin Manary got the shutout in the net.

Scoring Summary: Shelby Stewart 1g 1a, Jessica Maerz 1g, Melanie Allen 1g, Caylin Manary- shutout

The Junior Varsity match is now 4-3-1 after tying what was officially the Laquey JV (but since there were only 17 Laquey players present for the match, it was essentially the Varsity squad again). The Parkview ladies had chance after chance to finish goal scoring opportunities but just couldn’t put one away. The PHS defense again held strong, keeping the shutout and only allowing 1 shot on goal throughout the entire match. Keepers Sydnie Pilkinton and Julie Ryan combined for the shutout in goal.

Joe George’s photos of the match can be found here.

The other night’s scores can be found at www.sgfsoccer.com.

The PHS JV girls beat Central High School’s JV squad 4-0 on Wednesday, taking their overall record to 4-3. The Lady Vikings dominated play in the first half, but struggled to score for most of the first thirty minutes. The Vikings were without keeper Maddie George, forward Amanda Leckrone, forward Lana Aberle, and stopper Kelsi Fritts (all regular starters). Sydnea Pilkinton played keeper in the first half for the Vikings, and the rest of the roster was adjusted as well, but the ladies played hard and without making excuses. Late in the first half Molly Robb was able to finish an opportunity to give the Vikings a 1-0 halftime lead.

In the second half the Vikings looked much better offensively, connecting a few more passes, making better crosses, and finishing a few more opportunities. Sydnea Pilkinton crossed a ball on the ground to Mary Langebartel’s feet, and Langebartel was able to play the ball into the corner netting for a 2-0 lead. The third goal came when Molly Robb beat a defender and knocked the ball inside the near post side of the keeper. The final goal came again from Mary Langebartel, giving the Vikings the 4-0 victory.

Both squads head to Laquey on Thursday.

The Parkview Lady Vikings beat Joplin tonight 4-0, making them 5-3 on the season. The first goal of the match game from Shelby Stewart on a shot from distance that snuck in, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Later in the first half Melanie Allen crossed a great ball to Jessica Maerz who was running on and struck the ball into the corner netting for a 2-0 lead that the Vikings took into halftime.

In the second half the Vikings scored their third goal when Kelsey Loderhose beat a defender and played the ball across the field into space. Shelby Stewart was making the perfect run and took a touch before hammering the ball past the keeper for a three goal lead. The final goal of the match came when Shelby Stewart crossed the corner kick to the far post, and Jessica Maerz headed the ball out of the air and straight into the back of the net. Mary Langebartel and Anna Bingham both got their first career Varsity time at outside mid and outside back respectively. Caylin Manary earned her 4th shutout of the season.

Scoring summary: Shelby Stewart 2g 1a, Jessica Maerz 2g, Melanie Allen 1a, Kelsey Loderhose 1a, Caylin Manary- shutout

The Junior Varsity squad now had a record of 3-3 after a 1-0 in the first match of the night. Keyuna Mays got a start up top and really helped the offense click, along with Alex Shupert as the other striker. The lone goal of the night came on a throw in from then midfielder Caylin Manary into the box and straight to Olivia Solari’s feet. Solari collected the ball, turned, and hit a shot past the keeper for the lead. Maddie George earned the shutout in goal, her 3rd of the season.

Scoring Summary: Olivia Solari 1g, Caylin Manary 1a, Maddie George- shutout

More photos of the games can be found here (by Joe George).

More of the day’s scores can be found, as always, at www.sgfsoccer.com.

The Parkview Lady Vikings got a bit of press recently in the Springfield News-Leader, but don’t worry if you missed it because it’s archived online still. Highlighted in the article are Jessica Maerz and Caylin Manary.