In a game that matched their best so far this season in boys soccer on Oct. 14, the Huskies turned a 1-0 deficit around to beat Sutherlin 3-1 at home.
“They played a really good game,” said Coach Eric Stutzer. The game was reminiscent of the Huskies’ first matchup against Sisters, losing 3-0 only in the final minutes of the game.
The players were stringing together six to eight passes, with good coordination, Stutzer said. Even when they made the small mistakes, they were mentally tough and bounced back.
The Huskies trailed 1-0 at halftime, but it didn’t faze them this time around, Stutzer said. They lived in a scoring desert for the next 20 minutes as they faced probably the best goalie in the league.
Then Alonso Perez drew out a penalty, and Nick Rodgers pummeled it past the goalie, Stutzman said, showing the Huskies they could get a shot around that keeper. The Huskies had the ball 60 percent of the time, and it was on the offensive end 80 to 90 percent of the time. They had opportunities, but they just couldn’t connect a goal.
“It really gave us the momentum once that happened,” Stutzer said. “We really started playing then.”
With minutes left, Egan Shamek connected a beautiful shot from the top of the 18, Stutzer said. It arced upward and moved at the last second as the goalie reached for it, slipping in through a top corner.
Perez knocked it in again with a headshot, but the goalie snagged it and threw it out before the ref saw it, Stutzer said, so Perez knocked it back in between the keeper’s legs in the final score of the game.
Stutzer said his team did it all in this game, “all the things we’ve been talking about, keeping our heads in the game and fighting adversity,”
The Huskies carried their momentum into Cottage Grove on the road, but the Lions’ field is a tough place to play. The game was held after dark under the lights on a marked football feed with artificial turf – a hostile environment.
The ball moves a lot faster on artificial turf, Stutzer said, and the Huskies responded well, playing cohesively.
Some 25 minutes in, they left a Lion open at the top of the box, and he scored to give Cottage Grove a 1-0 lead to finish the half.
The teams were scoreless for 20 minutes of the second half when the Lions scored a “really great shot” across a good defense, Stutzer said. Their third goal came with 10 minutes left. Goalie Nic Dishaw had about six saves when he caught a shot and his shoulder gave out.
He dropped the ball, and it rolled over the line, Stutzer said. He left the game injured.
Nick Rodgers scored the final goal of the game on a penalty kick with about five minutes left.
“The last 15 to 20 minutes, we played some really great soccer,” Stutzer said. They weren’t able to maintain possession as well in this game, but a lot of that had to do with the turf.
Overall, the Huskies had one major error in the game, he said. They didn’t end up with a lot of opportunities, just four to five good shots at the end of the game, but “I was very pleased with the game.”
Cottage Grove defeated the Huskies 7-1 in junior varsity with Tristan Stockman scoring the Huskies’ goal. They did not play against Sutherlin.