The Parkview Viking Ladies saw their win total increase exponentially in 2008, and the rest of the soccer community was forced to take notice. After going a much improved 11-10 this spring, the Vikings gained recognition from the rest of District 12 by having seven team members named to the 2008 All-District 12 Awards after having only four girls gain this achievement last year. The Vikings’ two 1st Team, one 2nd team, and four honorable mentions are third in all of District 12 only to Ozark and Kickapoo. District 12 includes Parkview, Ozark, Kickapoo, Joplin, Nixa, and Neosho.

All-District 1st Team

Sophomores Jessica Maerz (pictured) and Shelby Stewart have both been named to the All-District 1st Team squad. Maerz, a second year starter who played center midfield almost every minute of the season for the Vikings, led the team with her 14 goals and 3 assists (29 points). Last year Maerz was named to the All-District 2nd Team. Stewart, who was limited to about two-thirds of the Vikings’ season because of her split time between Track and Soccer this year, finished with 9 goals and a team high 6 assists (24 points).

All-District 2nd Team

Senior Emmy Dale was named to the All-District 2nd Team squad. Dale, who did not play last season, gave the Vikings a huge boost by adding her 11 goals and 3 assists (25 points) to the forward position. Dale’s 25 points were second highest overall for the Vikings.

Honorable Mention

The Vikings also had four All-District Honorable Mentions, senior Kristine Malter, sophomore Melanie Allen (pictured), and freshmen Mckenzie Payton and Kelsey Loderhose. After taking off last year like Dale, Malter returned to control the defense for the Vikings. Malter quickly became a mainstay at sweeper this season, starting every varsity match in the back for Parkview (1 goal, 1 assist, 3 points). Allen added her 1 goal and 4 assist to the much improved Viking offense in her second year as a varsity starter. This is Allen’s second consecutive year to be named as an Honorable Mention. Payton split time between outside back, sweeper, stopper, and center midfield, helping hold down the Viking defense as a freshmen starter, while another freshmen starter, Loderhose logged time at both center midfield and striker, netting 10 goals and 4 assists, tied for third on the team with 24 points.

For the full list of District 12 Awards check out www.sgfsoccer.com.

Congratulations to both Kristine Malter and Emmy Dale on making the Southwest Missouri Soccer Ladys’ All-Star squad.

On the boys’ side, Matt Beckett (Ozark Conference 2nd team, District 12 1st) and Will Griffin (SW Region & Ozark Conference 1st team) made the All-Star squad from Parkview.

From www.sgfsoccer.com:

“The 4th Annual Southwest All-Stars Games, presented by SGFsoccer.com and Springfield Soccer Club, will be held Thursday June 19th, 2008 at the Cooper Soccer complex at Lake Country Soccer. There will be a Girls game at 6:00 pm and a Boys game at 8:00 pm.

The roster for the Girls Teams, high school seniors who will graduate in May 2008 and are completing their high school careers, is listed below. Formal invitations will be sent out to the players this week. There were over 70 girls nominate this year, 37 were chosen, representative of the strength of play and balance we saw in the region this year.”

To see the complete All-Star rosters visit: http://swsoccerallstars.com/

Varsity
Offensive Player: Emmy Dale (senior- striker)
Defensive Player: Kristine Malter (senior- sweeper)
Team MVP: Caylin Manary (sophomore- keeper)

Junior Varsity
Offensive Player: Lana Aberle (freshmen- striker)
Defensive Player: Anna Withers (freshmen- sweeper)
Team MVP: Olivia Solari (freshmen- center-mid)

(awards are voted on by the players)

The Lady Vikings Varsity squad ended their season on Tuesday night with a 3-0 loss to the Ozark Tigers. Ozark, ranked first in the District 12 Tournament, was up 1-0 at half against the fourth seeded Vikings. Sophomore goalkeeper Caylin Manary played solid and aggressive game in the back, making a handful of great saves, but the Tigers were able to get two more goals in the second half to clinch the 3-0 win. The Vikings played solid overall team defense throughout the game, but were unable to finish their goal scoring chances, and found themselves defending more than attacking for the majority of the match.

The Vikings end their season 11-10, their first winning record in recent memory. This is a huge stride for a squad that was coming off of a 3-14 season, and now has a young squad to build with for the future. The Vikings are expected to return 8 of 11 starters next year.

The Parkview Vikings beat Neosho 3-1 on Monday night in the first round of the District 12 tournament. The Vikings’ first goal came on a nice through-ball pass from senior striker Emmy Dale to sophomore striker Shelby Stewart, who buried a low corner finish for the 1-0 lead. The second goal came again on an assist from Dale, this time to sophomore midfielder Jessica Maerz, who finished nicely to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead at half. After Neosho got a goal in the second half, the Vikings were able to answer with an unassisted goal by Shelby Stewart, making the final score 3-1.

In other tournament news, after a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation and overtime, the #3 seeded Joplin squad lost to the #6 seeded Nixa squad in shootouts. This puts Nixa, who had no wins in regular season district play, into the semi-finals against Kickapoo on Tuesday night.

Parkview will play against Ozark on Tuesday night for round two of the District 12 tournament. The Vikings play at 5:00, again at Joplin.