A brand look, both in strategy and starters, was not enough to keep the Vikings from losing 1-7 to the Chiefs. Still playing without Melanie Allen, and playing last night also without keeper Caylin Manary or reserves Lauren Fetty, Andrea Wynn and Anna Bingham, the Vikings put a bit of a patchwork lineup out on the field. After an early goal on last night’s starter Maddie George that put the Chiefs up 1-0, the Vikings answered quickly. Mckenzi Payton, playing at center mid for the first half of Thursday’s game, put a nice effort right off the crossbar. Soon after Payton’s close-call, Meaghan Allen got an opportunity from just outside the 18′ and finished it to tie the match at 1-1. The halftime score was 1-3 Chiefs, but the Vikings could not keep it close (and at the end of the match had one healthy sub on the bench). Jessica Maerz had what was possibly her best game of the season for the Vikings. Starting at sweeper (a position that is normally held down quite nicely by Payton), Maerz kept the back clean in the first half and allowed Payton to get into the offensive mix. In the second half with the two switched positions back, Maerz was the most aggressive and hard working she has been probably since the Ozark game early in the season. Olivia Soliari had one of her better games of the season as well, playing at the stopper position, and winning 50-50s all night. It’s also clear that Allen’s game has come along quite nicely, as she has really finished her chances well of late. It’s been a tough stretch for Parkview, and they seem to be at a fork in the road. After a strong start, the Vikings have struggled recently for multiple reasons, and are looking to get back on track with a team-focused positive attitude, harder all-around work ethic, and mental toughness.

Scoring summary: Meaghan Allen 1g

The Junior Varsity squad didn’t fare any better on Thursday, losing 0-7 to Kickapoo. Minus three starting defenders: Anna Bingham, Andrea Wynn, and Lauren Fetty, the Vikings had to move people all over the field, taking a lot away from what has recently been a pretty potent offense. Anna Withers, Julie Ryan, and Maddie George all played keeper for the Vikings, with Amanda Leckrone moving from forward to sweeper, and Sydnie Pilkinton moving from mid to outside back for the first half. Mary Langebartel and Molly Robb provided some offensive opportunities for the Vikings, but didn’t have enough help to build much up.

The Junior Varsity will take part in the KHS JV tournament on saturday, with matches at Kickapoo at both 10:00am and 12:00pm. Both squads will face Hillcrest at home on Tuesday, with the Varsity squads kicking off at 4:00pm and the JV squads to follow around 5:30pm.

Parkview was beat by the Camdenton Lakers 1-8 on Tuesday night. The Vikings gave up a couple of early goals before losing keeper Caylin Manary to a head injury. Maddie George played out the majority of the first half in goal, but because she had already played 2 halves in the JV match, sophomore Julie Ryan played the second half in goal. It was only Ryan’s 3rd time playing keeper in any game ever, and also her first time in a Varsity match. Sydie Pilkinton scored her first Varsity goal by being first to a loose ball in the box and slotting it past the keeper.

Scoring Summary: Sydnie Pilkinton 1g

The Junior Varsity squad played the first match of the night, and had a stellar match considering the circumstances. The Viking JV lost 2-3 without starting sweeper Anna Bingham and starting center mid Mary Langebartel. Amanda Leckrone moved from forward to sweeper for the game and held down the position nicely, and the Vikings looked great on both sides of the ball in the first half. Keyuna Mays and Molly Robb scored for Parkview, but the Vikings could not hold the lead due to a lack of depth on this particular night, along with a couple mental errors late.

Scoring summary: Keyuna Mays 1g, Molly Robb 1g

Parkview plays Kickapoo next on Thursday this week. The Junior Varsity squads face off at 5:30pm on JFK, with the Varsity game to follow around 7:00pm.

With a record of 2-1, the Parkview Lady Vikings tied for 1st place in the White Division with Affton. The Vikings defeated Cape Central and Liberty (Mountain View), with a loss to Sikeston in between, to send their overall record to 9-7. This marks the first time the Vikings have ever won this particular tournament, as well as their first 2-win showing in the Zizzer Classic.

See below for tournament match results and statistics.

Photos from West Plain’s website.

Congratulations ladies!

Zizzer Classic
Varsity- Match #3

Parkview 6
Liberty- Mt. View 0

Scoring summary: Jessica Maerz 4g, Kelsey Loderhose 1g, Caylin Manary 1a

Tournament Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 9-7

Joe George’s photos of the match.

Zizzer Classic
Varsity- Match #2

Parkview 2
Sikeston 3

Scoring summary: Shelby Stewart 2g, Kelsey Loderhose 1a

Tournament Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 8-7

Joe George’s photos of the game.

Zizzer Classic
Varsity- Match #1

Parkview 4
Cape Central 1

Scoring summary: Shelby Stewart 1g 1a, Jessica Maerz 2g, Kelsey Loderhose 1a, Meaghan Allen 1a

Tournament Record: 1- 0
Overall Record: 8-6

Joe George’s photos of the game.

The Varsity ladies will look to add tallies in the win column with a return to the West Plains Zizzer Soccer Classic tournament again this year. West Plains always puts on a great tournament, and the Viking squad looks forward to Cape on Friday evening (5:00pm), as well as Sikeston and Liberty-Mountain View on Saturday. The Viking have NEVER won 2 games in this tournament, but look to break that trend this year.

The Zizzer Soccer Classic, hosted by West Plains, began in 2004. The first year of the tournament the Vikings went 0-1 before thunderstorms forced it to be canceled. In 2005 the Vikings went 1-2 in the tournament, winning over Harrison before losing to Lee’s Summit West and Moberly (record: 1-2). Parkview was the #7 seed in 2006, getting slaughtered by #2 Jonesboro before losing to #6 West Plains in PK’s and beating #8 Jennings (record: 1-2). In 2007 Parkview was the last seed out of 8 teams in the tournament. The Vikings lost to #1 Notre Dame, #5 Cape Central, and #6 West Plains (record: 0-3). 2008 found the Vikings entering the tournament as the #6 seed. Parkview lost to #3 Moberly in overtime, as well as #2 Waynesville before beating the host #8 West Plains after losing to them in the tournament the previous two years (record: 1-2).

Flash forward to 2009, and the Vikings have raised both their level of play and their expectations as well. The tournament has moved away from a bracket/seeding system and into a “round robin” format as the number have teams involved have increased, Every match will be of equal importance as the Vikings know they’ll have to win multiple games for the first time ever in the Zizzer Classic if they want to have a shot at the first place title.

(Archived info. courtesy of WP.com – coach Nick Schmitt)