The girls soccer team has been through the ringer during the early weeks of the season, playing two of the better teams in the area, first Stayton, then Cascade.
After losing in the first week to Stayton, the Huskies lost 4-0 Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Cascade, but it wasn’t all for nought, according to Coach Ramiro Santana.
“It was good, actually,” he said of his team’s performance. “I was pretty impressed by how the girls ended up playing.”
Cascade, a team composed entirely of seniors (nine) and juniors (six) was big and physical and “is pretty high up in the state,” Santana said. The Huskies had 12 freshmen and sophomores going into the season.
He said Sweet Home has improved dramatically in their communication and passing, two keys to becoming the team it needs to be, he said.
“We passed, and the communication was outstanding the way they were playing,” he said. “We didn’t score but they did surprise me, the way they played.”
He wasn’t the only one, Santana said. The Cascade coach also expressed surprise about how young the Huskies are and how well they played against his team.
“We have girls with black eyes and bruises,” he said. “They look like soccer players. It’s coming. It’s always one more step, every game.
“Every day you can see how fast they’re getting, feeling more confident, not being so negative any more,” he said. “They’re smiling and joking.”
The Huskies are taking their 0-2 record against North Marion at home Tuesday, Sept. 18, then will play at Santiam Christian Monday, Sept. 24.