By Leeann Akers - Staff Writer
CNHI
September 3, 2010 —
The Vikings moved up to 4-1 on the season this week with wins over West Crater and Bath County.
On Monday, Rowan played host to the Comets of West Carter for a 5-0 victory.
“We were a little sluggish in the first half,” RC Coach Alan Evans said. “We were a lot stronger and more focused in the second half.”
Rowan had a 2-0 lead at the half. Madison Justice was in goal for the first 40 minutes and Nick Alcom took over for the second half.
“When we face a young program like West Carter, the guys lose focus on their objective,” Evans said. “It is hard to make adjustments in the first half when you can’t call time out. We just had to change our intensity level and focus.”
On Tuesday night, the guys in green traveled to Bath County for an 8-0 victory.
The match up was an important one because Bath will host the District tournament this season.
“We really hope we can get the top seed in the District so we can go in there on top,” Evans said. “It was a very important win for us.”
The field at Bath County is like concrete due to the lack of recent rain. The field is also smaller in length and width than Rowan County’s. With the advantage of speed and better condition, the Vikings dominated the Lions.
Alex Bowling, Nathan Ray, And Will Bradley had two goals each. Trevor Newsome and Madison Justice each had one.
“Madison is so athletic we have also been using him in the field when he isn’t in goal,” Evans said. “He has been a great addition. It is a case of lead by example. He is a senior captain and he brings a spark and inspiration to the team.”
The Vikes traveled to Montgomery County Thursday (after press time) for the King of the Counties Cup. The Indians have held the cup for the last four seasons, so the Vikings were looking for payback.
“We just haven’t been able to beat them,” Evans said in a pre-game interview. “It is a tall order to go to their house and win. They have a turf field, which really changes the speed of the game. It will be much faster and will probably take our guys half the game to get used to the field.”
