Sweet Home lost to Woodburn 7-1 in its opening league game in girls soccer at home Sept. 10 and then 5-0 to Philomath on the road Thursday.
“We actually started playing really good, but they had two girls, they’re like cheetahs,” said Coach Ramiro Santana. “Those two girls did all the scoring.”
One of them, Yahaira Rodriguez, was matched up with Natalie Rodgers and could use her right and left feet interchangeably and was “unstoppable,” Santana said. Both were forwards and very good ball handlers.
It took the first three minutes to start figuring them out, Santana said. He talked to Siciliy Neuschwander and matched her up against the second one, Myranda Marquez.
“She did an amazing job,” Santana said. “We got in the second half, and we ended up scoring.”
Sweet Home trailed 4-0 at halftime; then Torree Hawken, who took three or four shots, hit a goal early in the half.
The Huskies had opportunities and took them, Santana said. Some shots were off, and Woodburn’s keper stopped a few.
“We did so much better than last year (against Woodburn),” Santana said. “They just blew us out, and we couldn’t do anything. The girls really played amazing in the second half.”
At Philomath, it was the same story, Santana said. The Huskies started a little lazy.
“The first half, we just had one mistake in defense,” Santana said. “They scored a goal, and they just broke.”
The Huskies trailed 5-0 at halftime, and then they didn’t give up another, Santana said. The second half was scoreless for both teams.
“Honestly, we can beat Philomath,” Santana said. “We had opportunities. Philomath is beatable. I hope when we get them at home it’ll be a different story.”
The girls saw that, and they were frustrated by it, Santana said. At the same time, they’re starting to find their rhythm.
The Huskies were scheduled to travel to Stayton Tuesday. They will travel to Lebanon Thursday evening and then Cascade on Sept. 24.