The Vikings lost during their homecoming game this past Saturday, losing 21-7 vs. conference rival Illinois Wesleyan after Wesleyan took an early lead.
First blood went to the Titans who scored off a 57 yard drive to take the lead 7-0 in the first minutes of the game.
The Vikings were able to answer on the next scoring play, tying the game up at 7-7 after quarterback and senior Chris Salazar made a pass to senior Sean Fitzgerald for a 35-yard touchdown.
Yet the Vikings fell behind only 13 seconds later, as Illinois Wesleyan scored off a kick return for 93-yards.
Missed opportunities hurt the Vikings as they failed to capitalize on two major offensive plays, which resulted in a missed field-goal and a turnover-on-downs.
The Vikings turnover resulted from  a scoring play at the end of the second quarter on fourth down, when a pass from Frasco connected with wide receiver Fitzgerald in the end-zone. Unfortunately for the Vikings, the pass was ruled incomplete and a turnover on downs, ending the first half 14-7.
The score remained the same throughout the third quarter, where a defensive battle between the Vikings and Titans took place. Neither team scored during the third quarter exceot for one play where, the Titans almost scored, yet the Vikings were spared by senior Frank Kalble who managed to intercept a pass in the end-zone. The score remained 14-7 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
The defensive battle finally ended in the fourth quarter when Illinois Wesleyan’s Shoemaker-Gilmore found an opening on the left side of the field, running 55 yards for the touchdown.
The Vikings had one opportunity to score in the fourth when they were within their own 18. On fourth down, Frasco passed to sophomore Riley Donald in the end-zone, but the pass was broken up by the Titans defense, leading to the end of the game as the Titans held onto the ball for the remainder of the quarter and ended the game with a score of Illinois Wesleyan 21 to Augustana’s 7.
This second conference loss has the Vikings conference record at 1-2 and their overall record at 2-4.
The next game the Vikings will play will be their next conference game against Carthage College, which will be at 1 p.m. at home.