Robert Jeffrey

Sun Sports Contributor

CINCINNATUS – The Otselic Valley Vikings boys soccer team was back in action on Friday, September 15, at Cincinnatus.

An early onslaught of goals by the hometown Cincinnatus Lions pushed an imposing lead upon their guests at 3-0. To the credit of the Lions, their crisp passing and unselfish team play proved to be a deadly combination. The visiting Vikings rallied scoring one goal coming from Lane Adams who was assisted by Tanner Costa on the play, cutting the halftime deficit to 3-1.

The second half proved to be an even larger uphill climb for the Vikings as the Lions went onto score another three goals. The Lions’ Caden Stafford recorded a hat trick in the game-finding the netting on the first goal of the second half punched home Stafford’s three-goal outing. With the score at 6-1, Cincinnatus allowed the OV team to honor their late goalkeeper and teammate Carter Rood by allowing Viking goalie Devan Pelky to score the final goal of the evening. With the Lions taking the game in stride, the Vikings drop to (0-5) on the season with the 6-2 loss.

“We really played a good first 50 minutes even though we were down 3-1. We just had a few seconds of mistakes and they (Cincinnatus) made us play,” said Otselic Valley head coach Jake Preston, “We lost gas in the second half and gave up three goals. It’s been a long week for the kids and I am proud of them and the support of the OV communities, and the surrounding area.”

The Vikings return to the turf when they host their first annual soccer tournament on Thursday against DeRuyter, with game time scheduled for 5 p.m.