Furious finish not enough for Packers
Published 10:10 pm Thursday, October 5, 2023
Austin’s Leo Hernandez weaves through the Rochester Century defense in Art Hass Stadium Thursday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Austin’s Juju Thwang slides to make a kick against Rochester Century Thursday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Austin’s Su Reh controls the ball. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Marvin Ortiz advances the ball for the Packers. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Austin’s Colin Berg pursues a loose ball. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
After a slow start against a tough opponent, the Austin boys soccer team put together a strong late surge in a 4-2 loss to Rochester Century in its regular season finale at Art Hass Stadium Thursday night.
The Panthers (11-2-3 overall) controlled the first 50 minutes of the contest as they scored twice in the first half and twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Austin controlled possession for much of the final 30 minutes. The Packers pulled to within 4-1 when Nick Asmus hit a penalty kick and they crept within 4-2 when Taw Reh scored with 21:38 left in the game.
Austin had a couple of more good looks in the final 15 minutes, but they were denied.
“Our guys wanted to keep driving and they wanted to keep up the intensity and push through,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said. “You’ve got to have that mentality because something could happen and there was still time to play. They’ve got that fighting spirit to keep things going.”
The Packers (5-8-1 overall) had trouble adjusting to Century’s quickness early on, but they eventually found their footing.
“They’re fast and they have two or three guys up top who are in sync with moving the ball around,” Levisen said of Century. “We had to be aware of who’s covering who and we need to be able to defend it.”
Austin will likely host a Section 1AA tournament game next Tuesday night.
