By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.–  North Salem brought their own special style to play Tuesday night at home against West Salem.  

Both teams, tied for third-place in the Central Valley Conference entering the match-up, knew what was at stake.  A win would put whichever team in the driver seat with three games left in the regular season with the final playoff berth out of the league.

And the Vikings pushed, the Titans rose to the challenge.  Weathering the storm defensively with the West Salem offense managing to get goals from Caiden Hewett (23rd) and Andrew O’Dell (45th) to help get in front of a pressing North Salem offense.

The passion was there as the eventual 2-0 score remained for the final 35 minutes in favor of the Titans.  The fire and pressure as well as both teams vie for a playoff spot knowing the magnitude of the result of the game.  For both teams, not losing their focus here.  This night was just as big as the games to follow after the conclusion of this particular game.

“It felt really good to come out with a win…they had a lot of possession in the game, but our defense was solid and it was a great game for us,” O’Dell said of the game.  “Staying with it mentally, it was tough but we came out with a dub.”

“That’s who North is and that’s our style of play and that’s who we’re going to be and the results will come our way.  Intensity, we’re going to continue to bring it and we’re going to bring it against McNary, we’re going to bring it against South and we’re going to bring it against Sprague.  We’re not going to lose sight of where we’re going to go,” adds Viks Head Coach Moises Mendoza Medina.  Both squads will have some time off to heal up before their next game.  North Salem heads to Keizer to play McNary before closing out the regular season against South Salem (10/21 at home) and Sprague (10/23 on the road).  West Salem host McNary on Friday before traveling to South Salem on Tuesday and closing out the regular season at home versus Sprague.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald