Tonight at Woodrow Wilhoit Stadium, the Union Pines Lady Viking soccer squad returns to action for the first time in nearly two weeks, hosting the Gray's Creek Bears in a Cape Fear Valley conference contest scheduled for 7 p.m.

It is Senior Night for the Vikes' Candice Hogan, who is the only senior on the team. The match will also be the last that Union Pines will play at Woodrow Wilhoit Stadium this season.

According to Athletic Director Steven Ross, a construction crew sprayed the grass surface last week in the initial step of what will be a complete resodding process. This is the second phase of the ongoing renovation project, which began last spring with the construction of new bleachers at Wilhoit Stadium.

Therefore, the Vikings will play their final two home games at New Century Middle School, a place the girls called "home" for their entire 2008 season.

Union Pines enters its Senior Night match in a tie with Western Harnett for the top spot in the CFV standings; both teams are currently 8-1 in league play.

Vike juniors Kacey Graner and Anna Pilson, both enter the game currently playing the best soccer of their careers at Union Pines.

Graner, a midfielder, is currently riding a four-game goal streak. Now with 7 scores on the season, she is one goal behind Pilson and two behind freshman forward Carly Livley, who leads the team with nine goals scored.

Pilson has also been on a tear, tallying at least one assist in each of her last four outings. Over that span she has 6 assists and scored 3 goals. Pilson, a forward, now has a team-high 10 assists on the year (in ten games played), and is second in goals scored with 8. As a freshman, she was named the 2007 Viking girls' soccer offensive MVP. During that season, in which Union Pines finished with a record of 21-1-1 and advanced to the second round of the 3A state playoffs, Pilson finished the year with 20 goals and led the team with 9 assists.

This year's Union Pines Lady Vikes are 9-2 coming into to tonight's tilt, as they look to continue their quest to capture the 2009 CFV conference crown.

Contact F.W. Manning II at 639-5481 or by email at fwm2@nc.rr.com