Both of Sweet Home’s soccer teams faced challenging matchups this last week, as both the boys’ and girls’ teams took on some of the top teams in their league.
Girls Soccer:
The Sweet Home girls faced North Marion (4-3), falling 8-0 after the mercy rule was enacted to end the game on Oct. 3. Despite the tough loss, Head Coach Ramiro Santana remained positive about his team’s performance.
“It’s North Marion, it’s a rough one to do,” Santana said. “Last year in the first half, we were out. This time, we played almost the whole game (only 5 minutes left). The girls all played amazing.”
The speed of North Marion proved difficult for Sweet Home to contend with. “We can play them, but we can’t play speed,” Santana explained.
The game also took a toll on Sweet Home, with three players sustaining injuries, including Khloe Sautel, who was taken to the hospital. According to the coach, she may have gotten a concussion.
“They still played, but they’re very tough,” Santana said, noting that the team is composed of five freshmen. “We’re doing the best that we can.”
This marked the third straight 8-0 loss for Sweet Home’s girls, as they also fell 8-0 to Newport (5-2) two days earlier on Oct. 1.
“Those are the three toughest teams in our league right now. Newport, Philomath, and North Marion,” Santana said. “We played good, it’s just the speed is killing us.”
Boys Soccer:
The Sweet Home boys’ team (1-4-1) also faced tough competition in their matches against Newport and North Marion. Sweet Home hosted Newport (3-3-1), losing 7-1, on Oct. 1. They then traveled to North Marion (7-0) and suffered a mercy-rule defeat, losing 8-0.
“I felt like we played well against the defending state champion on Tuesday,” Head Coach Eric Stutzer said. “It was a 1-3 score just after halftime. Unfortunately, we gave up a penalty kick and an own goal late that shifted momentum and put the game out of reach.”
Stutzer pointed out that the team had struggled with intensity in a previous matchup against Philomath. However, against Newport, they aimed to challenge their opponents.
“Our goals going into this week were to play with passion and make everything Newport expected to accomplish difficult,” Stutzer said. “I believe we did just that, apart from a couple of self-inflicted wounds that put things out of reach late.”
The game against North Marion presented additional challenges.
“The North Marion game was a different beast. We were lethargic and continued the deep dive in the realm of self-inflicted wounds by giving up two own goals and two penalty kicks before halftime,” Stutzer said. He noted that various outside factors such as sickness or a lack of recovery time could have also contributed to the team’s performance.
Despite the difficulties, Stutzer pointed to a bright spot in the JV team’s performance, which ended with a 4-0 win. Looking forward, Stutzer emphasized the importance of consistency and reducing mistakes.
“Our goals moving forward are playing with confidence and consistency. We have to minimize self-inflicted wounds if we want to be competitive in league play against the talented teams we are facing,” he said.