Vikings prevail in opener

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Valley Central’s boys’ lacrosse team opened the season Wednesday, March 27, against Red Hook at Mount Saint Mary College.

And the Vikings and the Raiders clashed on a windy, chilly evening that would eventually be overcome by the intense play by both teams.

Valley Central never trailed, but they could not relax either. Down to two players, sitting with penalties at the end of the game, the Vikings managed to prevail and survive to win 7-5.

“A lot less turnovers than I thought we were going to have,” said Tom Stoddard, Valley Central’s coach.

Randy Rosario led Valley Central with four goals, scoring his first with 10:07 left in the first quarter. The Vikings never gave up the lead as Red Hook, missing one shot after another at times, failed to overcome Valley Central’s advantage.

“Defensively, we really stepped up,” said Stoddard. “Going two men down to end the game is not fun.”

Down two players in the closing minutes of the game and leading 6-5, Valley Central’s Keith Widas scored with two seconds left and was injured on the play. The clock rested with two seconds left as Valley Central’s coaches tended to Widas and helped him off the field.

Widas scored a pair of goals in the game, and Aidan Laughman added another to help the Vikings win their season opener.

“It was very intense,” said Rosario. “We had to pick it up when it was down.”