Vikings’ perfect season ends in O.T. heartbreaker

 TREYNOR -- A perfectly-placed 40-yard bomb in the first minute of sudden-death overtime brought a heartbreaking end to AHSTW’s undefeated season last Wednesday night (May 24) as Treynor stunned the 10th-ranked Vikings 2-1 in a Class 1-A, Substate 8 boys soccer semifinal.
 Following a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, Treynor’s Connor Wiggins launched a long shot that found the top-left corner of the net just 27 seconds into O.T.
 Wiggins’ score was just the third shot on goal of the match for Treynor, which lost to the Vikings by scores of 2-1 and 2-0 in the regular season but was awarded home field advantage throughout the Substate 8 tournament due to its regulation-width turf field.
 The Cardinals (10-6) lost to St. Albert 2-0 in Saturday’s substate final. The 16th-ranked Falcons will take an 11-10 record into Thursday’s 1-A state quarterfinal game vs. Gilbert (15-3).
 For AHSTW, the best season in program history ended with an overall record of 12-1, including five shutout wins and eight matches in which the Vikings scored between five and 10 goals. They outscored the opposition 68-11 in 13 games.
 “It was a disappointing ending to an incredible season,” said AHSTW head coach James Johnson. “We came out flat and could never recover or get into our game. I’m sad for the boys, including the 10 seniors, that had a great opportunity to make a deep run. This teaches a great lesson, though, on not taking things for granted and that you still have to perform at a high level every time you take the field in order to reach your goals.”