Missed penalty kicks, yellow cards, missed goal scoring opportunities and struck posts and cross bars were a theme throughout the Vikings first half.  The Vikings defense kept the Green Wave out of the net with big plays from Sebastian Rosiles and Sebastian Centeno.  However, with just three minutes to play in the first half, goalkeeper Cris Abarca mishandled the ball, and a Green Wave player was able to capitalize and put the ball into the back of the net making the score 1-0.

The second half began, and the match was a relative stalemate for the first twenty minutes until an errant Green Wave shot on goal was mishandled into the back of the net putting the away side ahead 2-0.

The Vikings however were able to rebound just six minutes later when Abdi Isse played a quick free kick and found Jesus Moreno who headed the ball into the back of the net.  However, the momentum of that goal was quickly squashed when junior defender Sebastian Rosiles was injured, dislocating his knee cap.  Rosiles is expected to miss the next few weeks as well as Oscar Pedroza, who missed today’s game nursing a sprained knee ligament.  The injuries continued to mount just four minutes later when Josh Urbano was injured and unable to return, leaving the Vikings with only one experienced defender in the back four.

The Vikings mounted multiple counter attacks late but were unable to convert and the score finished 2-1 in favor of the Green Wave.

“East Grand Forks were well organized by their coaching staff and because of it, we struggled to find a rhythm throughout the afternoon.  We made mistakes throughout the day and they were ready to punish us for them.  Monday, we get back to work at practice and we will need new guys to step into the roles of our injured,” said Head Coach John Peter after the match.

The Vikings now sit in a three-way tie atop the conference with East Grand Forks and Detroit Lakes.  All three teams now have one conference loss.*  The Vikings continue conference play on Tuesday at home against Crookston.

*The first victory of the season over Detroit Lakes (7-0) was a friendly and not considered a conference match.