They didn’t win it, but it was probably the Sweet Home High School girls’ best soccer game of the season as they went down 3-1 on the road on Oct. 24.
The Huskies led 1-0 till about 20 minutes into the second half, then Sisters, which contended with Junction City for first place in the league, rallied and scored three goals to get the win.
“We ended up scoring first,” said Coach Ramiro Santana. The girls played Sisters tough the first half, and Alana Long put the ball into the net. It hit the top of the post and dropped down into the goal.
“We played 20 minutes into the second half when Sisters scored on a long shot,” Santana said. “It was a pretty nice shot.”
Sisters scored again on a head shot from a corner kick. Near the end of the game, goalie Haley Kent caught a shot and then dropped it, Santana said. When she went for the ball, she accidentally grabbed a Sisters’ player’s foot. Sisters scored the penalty shot.
“We played really good,” Santana said. “It was probably the best game of the season.”
The young team improved every game, he said, and this game showed it.
“This is a game they should be proud of and hold their heads up,” Santana said. The girls were competitive with one of the top two teams in the league. Sisters was beaten 5-2 Monday night by Junction City.
“We held them the whole half,” Santana said, and the Outlaws couldn’t do anything.
Sisters got more physical in the second half, wearing the Huskies out, he said. His team made a little mistake here and there, and things broke down a bit when Sisters started scoring.
“It was a good season for the girls,” Santana said. Opponents thought they were going wipe the Huskies out this year, but the girls played competitively, with one- or two-goal losses.
“It’s not like they came out and scored seven, eight, 10 goals against us,” Santana said. As young as his team is, he thinks they did pretty well.
The Huskies finish the season 3-9-2 overall and 1-7-2 in league play. Sisters and Junction City ended 9-1. Cottage Grove was 6-4. Elmira was 3-6-1, and La Pine finished 0-9-1.