Still struggling with injuries across the team, the Huskies finished a tough week in boys soccer, losing 3-0 at Junction City on Thursday and 2-1 in overtime at home against Elmira on Sept. 29.
Against Elmira, “I thought that they played extremely well,” said Coach Eric Stutzer, but they weren’t well prepared to see Elmira’s Rasit Erdogan, a junior midfielder. “They had one guy that was pretty darn good. When he got on it, he just laced it. Nic (Dishaw, goalkeeper) couldn’t see what was going on.”
Erdogan scored just after the Nick Rodgers scored a penalty kick in about the minute 20. Ramon Fry was taken down in the penalty box, Stutzer said, and Rodgers put the ball in the net.
Erdogan took the ball back at the Huskies and took “just a great shot,” Stutzer said. The game was 1-1 at halftime.
The score stayed the same through the end, with goalies on both ends of the field making great saves, Stutzer said. “Nic had another phenomenal game. He had some phenomenal saves. Because of his athletic ability, he made some saves that probably should have gone in.”
Both teams shot the ball 10 to 12 times, and both goalies collected about eight good saves each, Stutzer said.
Erdogan made the winning play in the 20-minute overtime, Stutzer said. He drew the defenders to the end line, taking Rodgers out of the play, and kicked the ball backward to a teammate, who kicked it in off the bar.
The Huskies had their chances but were never able to get the game back, he said.
Against Junction City, “I thinik that was probably one of the worst games of the year,” Stutzer said. Five seconds into it, the Huskies left the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, and Junction City pushed it right by a Husky defender, dribbling into a one-on-one with Dishaw.
Dishaw saved it, Stutzer said, but it was a tough save, surprising his teammates momentarily. Junction City collected the ball and scored it.
Dishaw again had a phenomenal game, Stutzer said. The Huskies started righting their ship, and held Junction City to a 1-0 halftime lead.
About 20 minutes into the second half, a crazy call ended with a Junction City score, spelling the end for the Huskies.
The ref called Rodgers for using a slide tackle and signaled him to talk to the ref off to the side, Stutzer said. Behind them, a Junction City player set the ball down and put the ball into play on a penalty kick. It should have been a dead ball.
Junction City knocked Ramon Fry down and put the ball into the net, Stutzer said. The ref counted it, saying he didn’t blow the whistle on the Rodgers play – which meant that Junction City would have committed a hand ball violation.
The scenario ended with a Junction City goal, and the Huskies were deflated after that, Stutzer said. “We were already playing a bad game. We had a major defensive letdown right at the beginning of the game. Giving up a goal in the first five seconds of the game probably sets a tone.”
The Huskies committed a lot of defensive errors, Stutzer said, but they might have had a chance to get into the game.
“I think it was just a perfect storm,” he said, combining those issues with fatigue and injuries. “Getting healthy is the biggest thing at this point. We’re pushing the back side of our depth.”
The Huskies were scheduled with a bye for Tuesday, a break Stutzer hopes will give his team a chance to get better physically.
The travel to Sisters on Thursday, 4:30 p.m., and host Sustherlin on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m.