After showing gains in the last part of the season, the Huskies boys soccer team finished its season in a shutout.
The Huskies lost 9-0 at Sisters on Thursday and ending winless.
During the second half of league play, the Huskies closed the scoring margins.
Junction City beat the Huskies 9-1 the first time the two teams played. The next time they played, the Huskies trailed 1-0 until the final minutes of the game and they were playing a man down.
The story has been similar in most games the past few weeks.
Thursday, Sisters scored about four times in the first four minutes, said Coach Ryan Regrutto. The Outlaws led 5-0 by halftime.
Sisters’ successful early assault took the wind out of the Huskies sails for much of the team, Regrutto said, although some players were pushing themselves hard and keeping at it to the bitter end.
Sisters is a tough, talented and technical team that took advantage of Huskies weaknesses, h said. “We were just shell-shocked, and it just did not get any better from there.”
Overall, the team improved during the season, and it showed in their record, Regrutto said. “Any team we played twice, the second game was a close game (except Sisters).”
With a new coach and new system, the Huskies spent the early season getting a basic idea who they are, Regrutto said. “In spells during games, we were really impressive.”
The players developed their knowledge and good soccer rather than just running on pure athleticism, Regrutto said. It took about five or six games before the Huskies could even really get a good basic game plan, and there’s still a ways to go.
The team was developed from the back, getting defense up and running and then working on holding the ball in possession, Regrutto said. “That’s about as far as we got.”
The team will return most players, all but three seniors, Regrutto said, which means they’ll be further along at the beginning of next season than they were this year, developing their own style and molding themselves to the new coaching.
There were several highlights this year, when the Huskies were leading, Regrutto said. Unfortunately, unable to hold on, they lost the lead every time.
The players forget what got them ahead in the first place and start playing not to lose their lead instead, Regrutto said. “I know the kids are good enough and deserve to win. There’s another level we need to get to that the kids deserve to be at.”
That’s what he’s striving for next year.