September 7, 2010 —
Rowan County’s soccer team introduced the King of the Counties cup in 2004 and won the inaugural match up with Montgomery County. The Indians went on to hold the cup for the next four seasons, but the Vikings were able to win it back Thursday night with a 2-1 victory.
“This is a signature win for the program,” Head Coach Alan Evans said. “We have an intense rivalry with Montgomery County, and we were playing for hardware. It was one of those games you circle on the schedule because it’s very important.”
Rowan’s guys went in with their energy high. From the kickoff to the final whistle, it was an intense and physical battle. Montgomery held the most possessions, but their shots on goal weren’t clean. The Vikings showed off their patience, which ended up being a good thing as Alex Bowling intercepted a direct kick 20 minutes into the first half.
“That brought our confidence up and the players believed they could come out with a victory,” Evans said. “They were pressing a lot of shots on goal at the end of the half, so we knew it would be tough to keep them out of the net.”
The Indians were able to score with seven minutes left in the half, tying things up at 1-1.
The Vikings were working against the odds in Thursday’s game. Tanner Thompson, Rowan’s starting sweeper and arguably faster player had to come out early with a pulled quad. Rhett Hughes had to move back on defense and started cramping up after blocking so many goal kicks, forcing him out of the game as well.
“Artificial turf (like what they have at Montgomery’s field) makes the game move a lot faster,” Evans said. “We had to make adjustments at midfield and up top with our forwards at the half.”
About 10 minutes into the second half, Bowling was 25 yards out from Montgomery’s goal and covered by two defenders. He was able to turn the defenders around and fire off a nice shot that hit the post and slipped in.
“Their keepers were making great saves and Madison Justice was making spectacular saves,” Evans said. “They had two shots off the post and so did we. When it hits the post it is a matter of inches from a goal and a shot. The game came down to just inches.”
Emotions were high after Rowan took the lead and a minor brawl broke out on the field. Yellow cards were issued, but no one was thrown out of the game.
“We had limited substitutes,” Evans said. “A lot of our young guys came in off the bench and kept the intensity level and the quality of play up. Will Bradley and Trevor Newsome had a great game. Everyone played to their full potential. A lot was riding on this game and it was our best one of the year.”
The guys in green will travel to Mason County tonight (Tuesday) for a 7 p.m. match-up. Like the Montgomery county game, the Vikings are going in looking for pay back.
“Last season Mason County spoiled our shut-out run when we tied,” Evans said. “We feel like we have some unfinished business with them.”
Mason likes to do an offensive side trap, so Rowan will have to adjust runs with forwards to avoid that. The Vikings have to play through balls early in the midfield, and worked to counter Mason’s attack in practice Monday.
Rowan will continue their road series with a match up with Russell on Thursday. The Red Devils knocked the Vikes out of the Regional tourney in round one last season.
“They have a lot of upper classmen, so it is going to be a challenge,” Evans said. “But we are really wanting to have a good visit up there and return the favor.”
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday. To check out the Vikings’ full season schedule, visit scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kybsc10/?id=32722.
Rowan County Sports
Related Photos
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Alex Bowling holds up the King of the Counties cup as the Vikings celebrate winning the game for the first time in five seasons. Mike Handson photo - sycamorephotography.ifp3.com
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Drew Diddle battles in the midfield during Thursday's win over Montgomery County. Mike Handson photo - sycamorephotography.ifp3.com
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