A tough defeat; Marion ends Viking season

By Becky Walz,

Fans of high school soccer knew Wednesday’s substate final between Decorah and Marion would be an all-out battle.
For 80 minutes the two battled back-and-forth on the Wolves home pitch.
Unfortunately, the Vikings couldn’t keep pace with the fast Marion squad, falling 3-0. All three goals came in the first half for the Wolves and were the first goals to be scored on Decorah since May 9, and three of only 12 goals scored against the Vikings all season.

Fans of high school soccer knew Wednesday’s substate final between Decorah and Marion would be an all-out battle.
For 80 minutes the two battled back-and-forth on the Wolves home pitch.
Unfortunately, the Vikings couldn’t keep pace with the fast Marion squad, falling 3-0. All three goals came in the first half for the Wolves and were the first goals to be scored on Decorah since May 9, and three of only 12 goals scored against the Vikings all season.
“The way we came out, we knew Marion was beatable, we just needed to find their weak spots and exploit them, but it took us too long to do that. Marion’s #9, one of the leading goal scorers in the state, had a great game and had us dead to rights in the first half. By the time we figured out how to shut him down, we didn’t leave ourselves enough time to come back. We had some very dangerous chances and couldn’t capitalize on them. We kept waiting for #9 to misstep, to be a crummy teammate or make a big mistake… and he just didn’t. He’s a good player, and we wish him and the rest of the Wolves the best at state,” said Coach Julie Simiele.
“We’re proud of how our boys handled themselves, they could have phoned it in and accepted defeat at half, but it shows their integrity and grit that they fought through until the end; holding Marion scoreless in the second half and having some dangerous looks at goal. A huge thanks goes out to our loyal fans, the rest of our coaching staff, the players and especially this year’s seniors. You’ve made it so coaching isn’t a job, it’s a privilege and an honor. 
The Vikings end the season with a 14-4 record, with 11 of those wins as shutouts.
Those shutouts can be credited to both senior Brayden Reiser, who came up big for the Vikes in several games, as well as the solid back line of the Viking defense, consisting of senior captains Brody Young and Drew Berns, as well as seniors Garrick Smith, Zach Jermier, Drew White, Dylan Muhlbauer and Isaac Cooper.
Leading the offense for the Vikings this year were senior Captains Ryan Johanningmeier and Larsson Shockey, as well as seniors Adrian Huang, Brayden Hook and Trysten Finholt, junior Jake Magner and sophomores Jimmy Valdez and Jeramiah Rediske.

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