BOYNE CITY — It wasn’t the kind of game Grayling boys soccer coach Andy Moore expected, but he’ll take the results just the same as the Vikings turned back Boyne City, 4-2 in a Division 3 district quarterfinal matchup in Boyne City on Thursday night.
After a rocky start, when they spotted the Ramblers a 1-0 lead early in the first half, the Vikings settled down and played one of their best games of the season in registering their third straight win and improved their record to 12-4-2 in the process.
Playing conditions certainly were not ideal, with a constant rain soaking the playing surface and the competitors. The cold temperature just served to compound everyone’s misery. But it’s something one anticipates this time of the year in northern Michigan.
Eliot Boik was a one-man wrecking crew for the Vikings, scoring three goals and adding an assist in leading a Grayling comeback. Andrew Walsh had the other Vikings goal. Anthony Harrington contributed three assists.
The Ramblers scored the first goal of the night just one minute and 10 seconds in, and the Vikings were shaken into temporary disarray, scrambling to find their equilibrium.
Grayling caught a break later in the first half when it was awarded a free kick, and Boik capitalized on the chance with his third goal of the game to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead it would keep the rest of the way.
The Vikings dictated play after that, until the end when the Ramblers were pressing to try to score. By that time, Harrington had scored and Grayling was protecting a two-goal lead.
Regular goalie Logan Cobb made eight saves on the night, all of them crucial in keeping the Vikings in the game until they could shake off their malaise and get their game in sync.
In the two previous games with the Ramblers this season, the Vikings lost, 2-1 at home the third game of the season back on Sept. 1 and came away with a 1-1 tie at Boyne on Sept. 24.
Grayling now plays Traverse City Christian (15-2-2) at Traverse City Christian in a district semifinal game Monday night. The Vikings lost to the Sabres, 4-1 on Sept. 15.
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