Vikings fall to Generals in rough battle

By: Colton Eastman

Staff writer

Hudson Valley Community College’s women’s soccer team fell to the Generals of Herkimer Community College with a final score of 2-1 in a physical battle that came right down to the wire.

The Vikings entered Wednesday night’s matchup with the hopes of being the first team to hand Herkimer a loss this season. The Generals came into the game with their perfect 9-0 record on the line.

It was Herkimer that jumped on the board first, as the Generals fired a shot that squeezed past Vikings’ goalkeeper Bailey Dunn, nearly fifteen minutes into the game.

The Vikings, however, wasted no time responding to the Herkimer goal. HVCC’s forward, Grace Cusack, took the ball and raced down the right sideline into enemy territory, delivering a lead pass to forward, Juliette Baker. Baker found herself in a one-on-one faceoff with Herkimer’s goalie and took advantage of the matchup, knocking the ball into the right corner of the net for the score.

That goal evened the score at 1-1 heading into halftime. After the game, the Vikings’ Head Coach Jay Pokines stressed the importance of Baker’s goal.

“It was very important because if you’re going into the half and you’re not even tied, the momentum is in their favor,” Pokines said. “At least the momentum came back to us.” 

Coach Pokines said the team’s focus heading into the second half was important.

“At halftime it was all about ‘stick to the game plan’ [and] when the game plan was executed we were able to move the ball down and keep it on their end of the field,” he said.

The Viking’s entered the second half determined to execute their gameplan, and knocked in another goal early in the frame to put them up 2-1. But as HVCC players and fans celebrated, a referee’s whistle had been blown. The goal had been waved off because the Vikings were offsides, and the score stayed even at 1-1.

With less than five minutes left in the game, Herkimer’s Keara Blumenstock, sent a shot to the right corner of the net for the deciding goal. With little time remaining on the clock, the Vikings were unable to score,and Herkimer secured their 10th win of the season. 

“I’m only disappointed with the outcome, I am very happy and excited about the way we played tonight,” said Coach Pokines regarding the loss. “We never gave up, [and] this was our best game that we played,” he continued. “We were on the losing end, but this was the best game that we played offensively and defensively,” Pokines continued. “They showed their true grit and what type of team we are.”

 Coach Pokines said his team can take away something important from this loss when moving forward into the rest of the regular season. 

“If we play as hard as we played today, nobody is going to touch us,” he said.

The loss was the second of the season for the Vikings, moving their record to 5-2. They will play a conference game against North Country Community College on Sunday Oct. 6 at 3 p.m.