Lady Vikes fight for 80 minutes in regional loss to Tri-Center

 NEOLA (May 28) -- For the third time in four years, AHSTW finished the girls soccer season with a regional loss to Tri-Center. The difference this time around was the competitiveness of the match.
 Facing an opponent that was fast, physical and skilled with the ball, the Lady Vikes never backed down and kept it a one-score game until the 57th minute. The Trojans eventually prevailed 2-0 in Tuesday’s Class 1A, Region 2 quarterfinal, improving to 12-5.
 AHSTW, which lost at T-C 6-1 on April 16, finished 6-7 overall during Beth Herbst’s first season as head coach. It should be noted that the previous two regional losses to Tri-Center came by scores of 5-0 in 2017 and 7-0 in 2016.
 “It says a lot [about our team],” Herbst said after Tuesday’s game. “The first time we played them we lost 6-1, so going in with the mentality that we did today and only losing 2-0, I’d say that’s some success on our end. We looked a lot better than the first time we played them.”
 The Lady Vikes had very few scoring chances but made it difficult for the Trojans to get good looks at the goal. When they did, senior goalie Jordyn Holtz saved nearly everything she could get her hands on. Holtz made only three starts at goalie this season, never allowing more than two goals against the likes of fifth-ranked Treynor, Kuemper Catholic and Tri-Center. She was also second on the team with nine goals and ranked first with four assists.
 The game remained scoreless until the 26th minute of the first half when a long right-to-left cross by Tatum Carlson perfectly set up Paige Skow for a short volley goal back to the right.
 AHSTW’s best look at a score came with 26:40 left when a free kick was solid and on point, forcing Trojan goalie Emma McDonald to jump for the save.
 Three minutes later, Tri-Center capitalized on a free kick of its own as freshman Miranda Ring blasted a shot from near the left sideline that bent directly into the left corner of the net and made it 2-0.