By Terry Douglass
terry.douglass@theindependent.com

Julian Monasterio drilled a shot into the back of the net to give the Vikings a 1-0 sudden-death shootout victory over York. The freshman's goal put an end to a chilly, defensive battle that concluded with a celebration for Northwest.

"That's a hard way to win and that's a hard way to lose," said Northwest assistant coach Brian Schwartz, who was handling head coaching duties for Roger Doud. "It's kind of one of those deals when you're on the other side that it just doesn't seem fair sometimes.

"You play 100 minutes and then go to a shootout like that it's a pretty tough one."

Monasterio was the ninth Viking the only freshman to attempt a shot in the shootout. His opportunity to end the match came when York's Jared Munoz sailed a shot over the top of the net.

Monasterio then calmly scored, touching off the celebration.

"Julian is a very solid player," Schwartz said. "He's very relaxed and smooth. He's played the game for a lot of years, so it's no surprise to see him come through."

Northwest (1-3) produced a strong defensive performance in a game that was scoreless through regulation and two overtime periods. Schwartz said goalie Adam Wemhoff and defenders Fredrik Johansson, Andrew Larsen and Monasterio led the way.

"They were very solid," Schwartz said. "We graduated almost our entire defense last year, so these guys have had to step right in and they've done a nice job."

After Northwest's Gustavo Bauer and Ryan Doud matched York goals in the first shootout session, the Dukes (2-4) had the upper hand when Johansson's shot was turned back. York's Dax Becker and GINW's Jason Ogden then traded goals, giving the Dukes a 4-3 lead and the Vikings appeared to be in trouble.

However, Luis Enriquez's attempt to clinch the game for York went wide and long left and the Vikings had new life. Brad Rauert responded with a score for Northwest, sending the shootout into sudden-death mode.

"It was looking a little bleak there, but fortunately for us, one of their guys made a mistake and that's pretty much the name of this game: You take advantage of mistakes," Schwartz said. "We played well, but we also got lucky today. When it came right down to it, we got lucky."

Northwest's Benji Flores, Brandon Kucera and Matt Smith all matched York goals with scores of their own. Munoz then failed to convert, setting the stage for Monasterio.

"This one was for coach Doud he deserves it," Schwartz said of the Vikings' head coach, who was in Peru to receive an award for his work in counseling. "He had already called two or three times before the game was over. He would've like this."

* GIRLS

York 3, Northwest 0

The Grand Island Northwest girls were unable to overcome a slow start in a 3-0 loss to York Thursday.

The Dukes (3-3) scored twice in the first 5:05 of the game and then held the Vikings (2-2) at bay the rest of the way.

"We came out so flat," Northwest coach Craig Charron said. "I was a little disappointed in us. We were not going hard for the ball and we were not challenging for the ball."

Going with a stiff wind in the first half, York scored three minutes into the contest when Nikki Diaz found the net. The Dukes' senior scored again at 5:05 for a 2-0 advantage for the visitors.

Already playing without Alison Lilley, who suffered a toe injury in Tuesday's victory over Grand Island Senior High, Northwest lost Lydia Myers to a bruised knee early in the opening half.

"We definitely weren't at full strength after that," Charron said. "That shortened up our rotation and we had to have a lot of girls step up and play for us."

After the slow start, the Vikings played solid defense the rest of the way. York's only other goal came on a score from Alexa Staehr at the 55-minute mark.

"We kind of picked up the intensity a little bit after that second score," Charron said. "We really started getting more into the game after that.

"I thought we had a lot of good shots. We just couldn't quite find the goal."