The Marysville Vikings came to play when they hosted the Lady Saints of St. Clair on Monday afternoon. Their meeting was about to be the first match of districts for both teams, so it was either win or go home for both of them. With so much on the line, both teams were amped up and hoping to play their best.

From the opening kickoff, Marysville looked eager to strike first as they played aggressively and beat the Saints to nearly every ball. However, the Saints managed to capitalize when they were awarded a corner kick in only the third minute of the game. Our go-to corner kicker, senior Tayler Malone, sent a beautiful ball into the box and found the foot of senior Maria Galante, who was there to send it across the goal line. 

Despite the steady pressure applied by the Vikings, St. Clair was able to gain a 2-0 advantage when they earned another corner kick in the 28th minute of the game. That time, head coach Cliff Freeland called up what should have been the team’s most reliable corner kick play of the season. Although it seemed that way when the team practiced the play, they had never been able to execute it in a game setting. This time would be different. Tayler Malone took the kick and laid a perfect ball in to the intended shooter, sophomore Allison Champion. And although Champion had to fight to maintain possession of the ball, she still managed to bury it in the back of the Vikings’ net, just as the play was designed.

The Saints came out in the second half looking much better as they managed to beat Marysville to more of the balls out of the air and complete more passes. Despite not being able to finish on any of their attacks, they still maintained possession of the ball more than the Vikings and were awarded a direct free kick near the end of the second half. With only nine minutes remaining in the game, Malone pounded an impressive strike from about 30 yards out and it found the net, just out of reach of the Vikings’ keeper’s outstretched hands, giving the Saints a 3-0 lead.

That is where the score would remain for the rest of the match. Although the scoreboard made it appear that St. Clair was dominant in their performance of the game, that was not necessarily the case. The Vikings came to play, and they played hard, forcing the Saints to play hard as well. It ultimately came down to St. Clair capitalizing on their set pieces and scoring when given the opportunities to do so.

So the Vikings have played the final game of their 2018 season, and the Lady Saints have earned the right to move on to their next opponent in the district finals, the Cros-Lex Pioneers, when they’ll meet at the Pioneers’ field today with a 4:00 kickoff.