For much of the season the Vikings either put it together on the defensive end, or the offensive end, but rarely did we see both sides of the ball play as well as they did Monday night against Nixa. Even more rare: to play that well and lose. The Parkview boys defended very well throughout the match, and the offense created many opportunities to score, but when it came down to it the Vikings were unable to finish those opportunities and held to a 0-1 loss.
With Jon Malter in goal and Michael Duff combining with Sam Vigil to anchor the defense, Parkview limited the Eagle’s scoring opportunities for the majority of the match. Late in the first half on a corner kick, however, Nixa scored the only goal of the match by creating chaos inside the Viking penalty area on a play that the referee allowed to get quite physical. The Eagles pounced on the opportunity and punched it into the back of the net for the lead.
Dane Knapp and Alex Blanco helped control the mid-field for long stretches, while Jared Moore, Blake White, and others created scoring opportunities for Brian Otradovec and Tanner Bennett. The Vikings came close on many occasions, but could not get the equalizer.
