Kinston’s girls soccer team has lived the motto, “It’s not how you start but how you finish.”
The Vikings began the season not-so-hot, only to end it with a share of the first conference title in the sport in school history.
Thanks to Kinston’s 1-0 win over Tarboro on Wednesday, the Vikings, along with Tarboro and Wilson Beddingfield, all claimed a share of the Eastern Plains 2A Conference title — something never done before at the school by a girls soccer team.
Hannah Vermillion scored her 14th goal of the season on a penalty shot for the win.
“My girls kept the faith and belief that our record was not an indicator of how good this team could be if we ever decided to play some serious soccer,” longtime Vikings coach Joe Romig said. “I am honored and humbled to be a part of a history-making season in capturing the first-ever conference championship.”
While the regular season ended with a bang for Kinston it began with a thud.
The Vikings (5-9-2, 4-2-0) lost six of their first eight matches and were outscored 41-8. They had 14 underclassmen, eight freshmen, on their roster of 26 girls.
The team was young, and its youth hampered Kinston even more due to several of its senior leaders enjoying the successes of the girls basketball program. The team also needed a full-time goalkeeper, Romig said.
So after coming up with more than a dozen different lineups and putting freshman Vendola Stafford in goal full-time, the Vikings started to turn things around heading into conference play.
“Conference play had to improve if we were going to make any contention for playoffs,” Romig said.
And it did.
The Vikings have won three straight, outscored their conference opponents 18-5, beat the Bruins and Tarboro on back-to-back nights by 1-0 scores and did so after a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Tarboro on April 22 in which Romig felt a no-call on a late offsides infraction led to the match’s lone goal.
“Our girls got the point with Beddingfield and Tarboro playing back-to-back nights,” said Romig, whose team is in the state playoffs for the fourth straight year. “All the hard work is by the work ethic set by my girls.”
The season isn’t over yet. Romig isn’t sure how the league will break the three-way tie, meaning his team could host a first round playoff match next week when they begin on Wednesday or open the postseason on the road.
But at this point where Kinston will play isn’t as important as what it has done — recover from a disappointing start to doing something no other Vikings girls soccer team has done.
“I am speechless on what to say concerning the conference title,” Romig said. “The girls have deserved this honor for showing a mental fortitude and immense work ethic.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.