Viking Soccer Downs Madison; Hosts Heritage for Senior NIght

The Avery boys soccer team continued its torrid streak of winning soccer on October 21^st in Marshall with a 1-0 shutout victory over Madison. The team then honored its senior soccer players with a pre-game recognition at MacDonald Stadium and post-match meal hosted by the parents of the senior players on Monday night. As for the game itself, Avery saw its shutout streak and victory streak end in a 2-1 loss.

In the contest with Madison, the Vikings battled a pesky Patriots team as well as a holey and uneven surface at O.E. Roberts Stadium. Avery struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the first half, but the defense was taut, holding the Patriots scoreless through the opening 40 minutes of action.

Eventually the Vikings broke through on Madison's Senior Night, as Kyle Griewisch took a pass and scored on the Patriots keeper in the 65th minute to score the only goal of the match.

Avery senior keeper Morgan Bounds and the Vikings defense extended its shutout streak to four games, all in conference play, as the Vikings improved to 12-5-2 overall and 8-3 in Western Highlands Conference matches.

On Monday evening, the Vikings welcomed rival Mountain Heritage to MacDonald Stadium for Senior Night. Seniors Morgan Bounds, Dillon Gentry, Kyle Griewisch, Daniel Huff, and Cody Shadoin were honored with their families prior to the match.

Once things got underway, the Cougars showed they came prepared to upend the hot Viking team. In just the second minute of action, Mountain Heritage got on the scoreboard with a cross-net shot by Santiago Escamilla that slipped into the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage.

The score remained unchanged until Escamilla struck again, getting inside the Avery box and scoring in the 38^th minute for a 2-0 lead the Cougars took into halftime.

As the second half progressed, it was an obvious defensive struggle as both sides fought hard to maintain control of the ball in their offensive end of the field. Avery took a ball in the 61^st minute, and Kyle Griewisch broke free of the Cougars defense, peeled off a shot against the Cougar keeper and ripped the shot into the net to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Avery had a couple of additional opportunities in the final 20 minutes to net the equalizer, but the Heritage defense was up to the task, holding Avery scoreless for the remainder of the match to escape Newland with a 2-1 win.

The loss drops Avery to 12-6-2 and 8-4 in Western Highlands Conference action. Avery concludes its regular season schedule with matches at Mitchell on October 28^th, and at Polk County on Thursday night. State playoff competition begins the following week.