Neil Young has echoed for decades that “southern change is gonna come at last.” Such was the sentiment echoed by the men’s soccer team’s recent sweep of Knox and Grinnell, way down south of the 42nd parallel.It may be true that the two teams beaten “got the weight on their shoulders” in the sense that they are in the bottom tier of the conference this year. Nonetheless, the last time the Vikings swept on their yearly Illinois/Iowa trip dates further into the past than digital documentation exists.
The first victim was Knox College. Goals from freshman Ryan Pikna, junior Richie Amankwah, and two from sophomore Rodrigo Gomes, in addition to otherwise dominant play, made this third straight drubbing of Knox a facile accomplishment with a final score of 4-0.
Everybody knew it was nowhere when they got to the isolated site of their next game, Grinnell, Iowa. Traditionally a better team than Knox, the Pioneers seemed to pose little more of a threat to the Vikings. “We pretty much controlled the game,” said sophomore defender Brian Harks. The final score of 1-0 didn’t do justice to this dominance, but nonetheless it was there. Freshman Joe Sluhoski had the only goal in the win.
Past years will attest to the fact that things are worse “when you are on the losing end.”
The evolving story coming out of the weekend is that of goalkeeper Matty Wolin’s third straight shutout. A junior who played center-midfield for most of the past two years, Matty has responded to any doubts about his ability as a keeper wonderfully.
The boys in blue won’t not be excited for this Saturday as they kick off at 12:30 at the home of the Republican Party, the biggest cookie in the world, and a bunch of jerks who call themselves the Redhawks – Ripon College.