Showing improvement across the field, Sweet Home’s boys lost to Cascade 8-0 on the road Oct. 22 and Sisters 4-1 at home Thursday, Oct. 24, in soccer.
While Cascade scored four goals in the first half, the Huskies were able to get some things going in the early part of the game, said Coach Eric Stutzer. “We did get a lot of shots. That was a big change from the beginning (the first part of the season).”
After giving up two quick goals in the first three minutes, the Huskies had six or seven quality shots in the first part of the game, he said. “On paper that’s considerable improvement.”
After giving up the two shots, Stutzer said the Huskies played like stalwarts. They gave up two penalty kicks that connected with the goal to allow Cascade a 4-0 lead at halftime.
Defense was balanced rather than the lopsided affair it has been in the past, he said. “We were playing soundly in the middle of the field. It created a lot of passing lanes.”
The Huskies were able to pass to the corners, run slots, winning 50-50 balls and play across the field to open up shots, he said. “Their keeper had to work against us this game.”
They were more aggressive, Stutzer said. They challenged Cascade more, and they were communicating well.
“I think we surprised them a little bit,” Stutzer said. “They (the Cougars) were rattled a little bit.”
Against Sisters, “we took off right where we left off, and they were amped,” Stutzer said. The Huskie did not allow a goal in the first five minutes, and they stayed on the offensive throughout the first 10 minutes, shooting the ball about six times in the first 15.
They likely could have scored some goals if they hadn’t tried to force it, Stutzer said. “I felt like the passing was the best we’ve seen all year.”
The Huskies had some defensive problems, giving up two goals when the midfield didn’t track back on defense correctly, Stutzer said, and Sisters led 2-0 at halftime.
Communication remained strong among the Huskies, Stutzer said, but they gave up another goal 10 minutes into the second half on a defensive mistake in the middle.
The Huskies made an adjustment and got offensive pressure back up, Stutzer said. Zach Zanona scored a goal. After penetrating the Sisters defense, the ball came back out, and Zanona took a shot about 25 yards out, lacing the ball over the goalie’s head into the top corner.
The Outlaws put the ball in the net one more time right at the end of the game, Stutzer said. A Sisters player tripped in the penalty box, and another Outlaw followed him up to put the ball in.
Stutzer was pleased overall with the improvements the team made, noting that it would have been easy for this team to quit. Instead, the Huskies never quit, and they’ve made strong improvements over the season.
“We still have a long way to go,” he said, but things have changed as the group has come together as a team.
Stutzer said the trend matches one that started about five years ago as the team began closing the point spread and then started winning a game or two before finally making it into the league playoffs for the first time in the program’s history.
The Huskies were scheduled to wrap up their season hosting Newport Tuesday evening.