The Huskies defeated Junction City for the second time this year, sweeping the season in high school boys soccer with a 2-0 victory at home Thursday evening.
“Winning that game is huge,” said Coach Eric Stutzer. “Huge win for the program. Huge win for the kids.”
The Huskies beat Junction City for the first time in program history this season in a tough league where playoff spots remain wide open. Junction City beat Cottage Grove, which beat Sweet Home. Meanwhile Elmira has tied Cottage Grove twice.
Sisters remains undefeated at the top of the league. In league play, only Sweet Home and Elmira have managed to score a goal against the Outlaws, one goal each.
Elmira is sitting in second place, barely ahead of Sweet Home, with a 3-1-2 record. Sweet Home is 3-3. Cottage Grove is 2-2-2. Junction City is 2-4, and Sutherlin hasn’t found a win yet.
The Huskies have to finish in the top three to make the play-in round. If they end up in fourth place, depending on their state ranking, 22nd as of Monday, they may make the play-in round.
“We’re way further along in league than we’ve ever been,” Stutzer said. “I’m very, very pleased with how the boys played. They seemed to do very well keeping possession of the ball.”
They did through some difficult situations, Stutzer said. One call put Junction City into a good position to score on a penalty kick.
That shot bounced off the post, Stutzer said, but it could have changed the complexion of the game.
Junction City had three really good shots on goal, Stutzer said, and Rowland Lupoli did a great job stopping them, and “one of those was a monster save.”
Tristan Graham provided great defensive play, Stutzer said, and Wes Parker won some key 50-50 balls.
“Quinn Dinsfriend played very, very well,” Stutzer said. “He ended up with both goals.”
Alonso Perez assisted on both.
“The first goal, he got knocked into the keeper and a defender,” Stutzer said. That was about 15 minutes into the second half. He knocked the defender into the ball to score it.
The second goal came about 30 minutes into the second half with a header off a corner kick.
They were Dinsfriend’s second and third goals of the season, Stutzer said. He has played all over the field this season, but recently, Stutzer has been moving him up front because he’s been so goal-hungry.
His size helps draw defense off Austin Stevens, who is frequently double- and triple-teamed. If defenders aren’t drawn away, it leaves Dinsfriend open to take the shot.
“So I’ve been very, very happy the past couple games with Quinn,” Stutzer said. He’s had a lot of opportunities where goalies have had to make some great saves.
The Huskies were scheduled to face Sisters at 4 p.m. at home on Tuesday. They will travel to Sutherlin at 7 p.m. on Thursday and then host Cottage Grove at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18 and Elmira at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 20.
The Huskies cannot overlook Sutherlin, Stutzer said. They won 1-0 at home last time they saw the Bulldogs. It’s a game they have to win, and they have to avoid overconfidence.
They’ve got a shot against the rest of the teams too, Stutzer said. “We’ve played both teams (Elmira and Cottage Grove) very tight. We could’ve beaten Sisters.”