Sweet Home boys soccer fell to Cascade twice last week, losing 2-0 at home and 3-1 on the road. Between the battles with Cascade, they lost to a Stayton team ranked No. 2 in the state, 8-0. Then on Monday, Oct. 25, in their season finale, the Huskies fell at home to Newport 5-1.
The first match against Cascade was “a really good game,” said Head Coach Eric Stutzer. “I honestly felt like we should have come away with a win there.”
The coach said his team had 15 to 20 opportunities in the second half in front of their opponent’s goal, but failed to capitalize.
“I felt like we outplayed them, but it didn’t show up on the scoreboard,” Stutzer said. He added that junior goalkeeper Evan Towry had a “monster game.”
Cascade scored both their goals in the second half.
Stutzer said the game against Stayton the next day was “ugly out of the gate” for his team, whom he described as “extremely tired.”
“In the soccer world, playing games back to back is a difficult sell anyway,” he said. The game was over at halftime, due to the mercy rule going into effect with Stayton’s 8-0 lead.
Sweet Home’s rematch against Cascade, this time on the road, was described by Stutzer as a “mud fest,” as heavy rain soaked the pitch throughout the contest. The game was 0-0 until about 20 minutes into the second half, when Cascade scored.
They scored another goal shortly thereafter, bringing the Cougar’s lead to 2-0. Sweet Home then scored a goal of their own with 15 minutes left in the game, when junior forward Caleb Christman found the back of the net.
But Cascade was able to tack on one more to secure the 3-1 victory.
Against Newport in the Huskies’ season finale, a goal by sophomore Colton Savri five minutes into the second half wasn’t enough to keep the Cubs at bay. The score was 3-0 at halftime and 5-1 Newport at the final whistle.
“We did pretty good on the offensive end,” Stutzer said of his team’s effort.
He said he was happy that his freshmen “really stepped up and played well,” citing the work of Tison Monahan, Eli Vincent and Christian Justham.
As the season comes to a close, the team graduates three seniors: Joseph Hiemenez, Greg Farrell, and William Hawken.
Sweet Home finished the year 2-12 overall with an 0-10 record in league play.