Sioux City, IA – Men's Soccer collected their first win of the 2024 season on the road against Morningside Mustangs. After multiple delays due to the stifling heat, the Vikings defeated the Mustangs 2-1.
 
Kicking off almost an hour late, the Vikings did not waste any more time, as the relentless press of the Mustangs backline led to the ball breaking for Pietro Piacenza, who smashed home his first goal in a Vikings jersey after 1 minute. The Viking offense did not take their foot off the gas, as Clement Scaccia added another in the 5^th minute of the match. Due to the severe heat, the game was disrupted by regular water breaks every 15 minutes, which killed the momentum that the Vikings had gained in the first actions of the game, leading to the Mustangs beginning to grow into this contest. This pressure paid off for the Mustangs as they grabbed a goal back before the end of the 1^st half. In the 2^nd half, the Vikings produced much more fluid and intense forward play, which resulted in 8 shots during this period, with the Mustangs goalkeeper keeping them in the contest, making superb stops to deny Kai McPeak and Marco Kramer. Equally, Scott Pengelly, on his Grand View debut, was crucial in commanding his defense of Dylan Hunston, Martin Launay, Paulo Marques, Felipe Augusto, and Braden Schoene in order to absorb the Mustangs' pressure late on and secure the win for the Vikings.
 
MATCH NOTES 

• Grand View collected 0 yellow cards
• Pengelly made 5 saves on debut
• 19 Vikings took to the field, with 3 completing 90 minutes.

 
UP NEXT  
The Vikings will now host Midland Warriors at Cownie Soccer Complex on Wednesday night, August 28^th. The first home game of the 2024 Men's Soccer season will kick off at 7:00 p.m. in Des Moines, IA.