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Show 4A inter-region soccer begins Vikes overcome Warriors, weather BOUNTIFUL The Viewmont View-mont Vikings faced more foes than just its formidable Taylorsville opponent op-ponent Friday afternoon in inter-region inter-region playoff action. The Vikes not only had to contend con-tend with the Warriors, Region 3's fourth place finisher, they were also up against gusting winds, intermittent intermit-tent rain and three injured starters who were unable to suit up for the game. Undaunted, the Vikes not only won the bout 2-0 to move on to the 4A state soccer tournament next week at Woods Cross High School, Region l's most dominant soccer force also earned a boost in its self confidence. "The weather played an enormous enor-mous factor in this game," said Viewmont coach Will Veal. "I was a lot more scared of the weather coming into this game than anything else. "On a day like this, any team can beat any other team at any time," Veal added. "We had the wind to our advantage advan-tage in the first half hoping it would change in the second, which it did. So we had the wind in our advantage advan-tage all game." Viewmont went into the bout hoping to play an offensively aggressive ag-gressive ball game; however, the wind and pelting rain chose not to cooperate. Trie Vikes opted to take a more conservative approach to the game. "We didn't play the type of game we wanted to play simply because of the weather. "We wanted to make sure that no ball floated over our heads," Veal explained. "Taylorsville was a lot better team than my scouting reports indicated. in-dicated. I hadn't seen them play. "Injuries played a big factor in this game. I didn't substitute near as much as I wanted to. We had to rely on the kids who were on the field, and they came through for us." Senior forward Nick Berry scored both goals for Viewmont, "using his head" to put the Vikings up 1-0 in the first half of a see-saw battle. In the second half, the grudge match continued; however, continuous con-tinuous Viewmont pressure began to wear the Warrior defense down and result in a number of near-miss shots on goal. Berry iced the victory with a suc cessful penalty kick midway through the second half. From here it only gets tougher for the Viewmont soccer squad. Looking toward Tuesday, the Vikings will most likely face the Brighton Bengals, Region 4's second se-cond place contender. Game time is slated for 4:30 p.m. at Woods Cross High School. If the Vikes can survive a Bengal onslaught, chances are good they will find themselves up against Skyline. "We definitely have the hardest draw," Veal said. "But that's all right. I think we're ready now. Our kids aren't intimidated. Winning the game in this weather, getting this one behind us, really gives us more confidence. con-fidence. ' |