A rough week in soccer leaves Sweet Home boys still in a position to make league playoffs.
The team must finish fourth among nine teams to enter the playoffs, Coach Karl Schmidtman said. “We’re pretty much in a dead heat (with Marist) right now.”
The Huskies must win both games this week, at Stayton on Tuesday and at Marist on Thursday, to ensure a fourth-place finish. Marist must lose to the same teams the Huskies have, and the team appears to be doing just that.
Their game against Marist will probably be the deciding game.
“I think we can beat them,” Coach Schmidtman said. “They’re not the same Marist they have been the last few years, but you can’t overestimate a good program. You’ve got to be prepared for the best.”
The Huskies hosted Junction City on Tuesday, losing 5-1.
Junction City scored two by halftime, Coach Schmidtman said. The game still seemed in reach, especially when Heath Belknap scored a goal and swung them momentum to the Huskies. Almost immediately, Junction City broke away to go up 3-1, sucking the wind out of the Husky sails and defusing Husky momentum.
“After that they pretty much had their way with us,” Coach Schmidtman said.
On Thursday at Cascade, the Huskies tied 1-1.
Cascade scored within the first five minutes, Coach Schmidtman said. About 10 or 15 minutes into the game, the Huskies finally started playing. They managed more shots on goal than Cascade, two bouncingoff the goal posts, but they tied the game at halftime.
The Huskies had many opportunities to score in the second half, Coach Schmidtman said. Belknap was tackled in the box with less than two minutes left setting him up for a penalty kick. The shot missed giving the Huskies their second tie of the year.
The Huskies are 2-3-1 in league and 5-4-2 overall.