The Vikings struck first at the 25th minute when Kevin Gathje chipped a feed from Adam Sinovic over the head of goaltender Matt Shepard. Wartburg struck back a little over 10 minutes later, when Harrison Kibombo Lugujjo slipped past the Viking defense and fired a shot past diving goaltender Austin Person.
The Knights’ Joe Hoeksema scored the winning goal in the second half on a blast that Person could not control.
“We made a couple of mistakes tonight and they capitalized on them,” said Head Coach John Born. “They are a very effective offense.”
Two hundred fans made the trip to St. Peter to huddle in the 23-degree weather with 15 mph winds that made the air feel like 12 degrees. Snow that covered the field the day before was piled along the sidelines.
“It was freezing out there,” Born said. “We have been blessed to have tremendous fans,” he added.
While some froze in St. Peter, more than 100 other fans gathered on the mezzanine of the Helwig Recreation Center to watch a live webcast of the game. The crowd cheered when Gathje scored, but left quietly as the clock ran out on the season.
This is the second straight year that the Vikings have made the NCAA national tournament.
