Benny Westcott
The Sweet Home boys soccer squad earned its second season win on Friday afternoon, beating East Linn Christian Academy 2-1 in a non-league match-up versus the 2A-3 Central Valley Conference team.
The win gave the Huskies a 2-3 record in the young season. East Linn falls to 0-3.
Head Coach Eric Stutzer said he was “super proud of the boys,” who came off a tough 8-0 loss at league rival Philomath’s field the previous afternoon against a Warrior team ranked second in the state for the 4A division.
Freshman midfielder Christian Justham got the ball rolling early for the Huskies against East Linn, scoring a goal 10 minutes into Friday’s game from a shot near the top of the 18-yard box.
The Huskies carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, what Stutzer called a “mistake on defense” gave the Eagles a penalty kick, which they scored on to tie the game at 1-1.
But just five minutes later, the Huskies answered on the other end of the field when sophomore midfielder Max Klumph headed the ball into the back of the net off of a corner kick, giving Sweet Home a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish.
Sweet Home was able to withstand Eagle pressure throughout the game. In fact, East Linn doubled Sweet Home in shots-on-goal.
Stutzer credited junior goalkeeper Evan Towry for making six “quality saves” to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard apart from the penalty kick.
This week Sweet Home begins its league schedule in earnest, matching up against Sisters (3-1) at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Husky Field, followed by a 6 p.m. match at Stayton (6-0) two days later.
The Huskies lost a tight 1-0 match to the team last spring. This week’s Stayton contest should prove more challenging, as the Huskies fell 8-0 to the Eagles last April.