Oswald's goal propels Vikings past Indians (SLIDESHOW)

FORT WALTON BEACH – Fort Walton Beach’s Brianna Oswald had no idea what was going on around her, so she simply joined the rest of her teammates in celebration.

“I looked around and asked ‘What’s happening?’’ Oswald recalled.

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What happened was Oswald’s header off a corner kick by teammate Paula Swiercz had ricocheted past the Choctawhatchee keeper and into the back of the net. Oswald’s unknowing goal snapped a 1-1 tie in what was a contentious girls’ soccer game played between the two bitter rivals on Saturday at Joe Etheredge Stadium.

Oswald’s goal proved to be the difference, as Fort Walton Beach tacked on another second-half goal late to come away with a hard-earned 3-1 win over the arch-rival Indians. Both Fort Walton Beach (14-1-1) second-half goals came on feeds from Swiercz.

Following days of buildup between the two sides, Swiercz was relieved to walk off the field on the winning side.

“There’s been a lot of smack talk,” Swiercz said. “To be able to put the smack talk away and put them away, it makes us proud.”

Minutes after grabbing a 2-1 lead it was Swiercz again putting the Vikings offense in motion. Swiercz raced past one Choctaw defender and fended off another just long enough to pass to teammate Rachel Simmons. Simmons, seeing the open net due to the oncoming Indians’ goal keeper, managed to slip a low-rolling shot just to the right of the charging keeper for the game’s final goal.

Choctaw fell to 11-4-2 with the loss.

“Our scoring opportunities were limited,” Indians coach Jeff Rynearson said. “(The last goal) was a good counter attack by a very mature well-coached team. They knew they had to get that to put us away.”

The Indians rejuvenated their home crowd early in the second half. Trailing 1-0 after Fort Walton Beach’s Kelsey McGrail scored on a corner kick, Choctaw answered when Ariel Lindner redirected a Choctaw corner kick off the foot of Megan Thomas.

The score would remained gridlocked, with both teams exchanging shots on goal before Swiercz’s corner kick later in the half tilted the match back in favor of the visitors.

Neither team blinked in what was once again a physical meeting between the two rivals.

“Even though we’re not in the same district, it’s always a tough game when we’re playing,” Vikings coach Bill Wilkins said. “It was a physical game, which wasn’t a surprise.”

Rynearson, whose team has already surpassed last season’s win total (nine), said there were plenty of positives for his Indians to draw from the loss.

“As disappointing as it is to lose to a rival, I think we can carry momentum through this week and into next week’s district tournament because of how well we played.”

Follow Travis Downey on Twitter: @TravisDnwfdn