Boys soccer: Packers fall to Scarlets
Published 9:43 pm Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Austin’s Roel Torres continues to try and make a play on the ball after falling down as Mankato West’s Cameron Corcoran attempts to move the ball forward during the first half Tuesday night at Art Hass Stadium. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Packers had a late opportunity denied as they fell short in a 4-2 loss to Mankato West in a boys soccer game in Art Hass Stadium Tuesday.
Austin (2-3 overall, 1-1 Big Nine) had a chance to tie the game up at 3-3 with 3:50 left when Roel Torres lobbed a pass up to Ochan Ochogi, who looked like he was going to have a breakaway shot. Instead, Scarlet keeper Tyler Defor dove in front of Ochogi and stopped the ball right before Ochogi could get to it.
“He was very aggressive and had he not played that way, that could’ve easily been the difference in the game,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said.
West (5-2 overall, 2-1 Big Nine) put the game away two minutes later when freshman Jacob Makela scored his third goal of the night on a rebound off his own miss.
Austin’s Franco Ortiz is challenged by Mankato West’s Dillon Lambert as he moves the ball forward during the first half Tuesday night at Art Hass Stadium. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“I thought we gave them a good run. We’re making good things happen and we need to continue to move in that direction,” Levisen said. “We had moments were we looked really good. We had moments where we see that we play an entire season for a reason. We can identify how and where we need to improve.”
The game was tied at 1-1 at the break but West scored a pair of goals in a four-minute stretch to take a 3-1 lead with 17:33 left in the game. Austin responded when Jeremy Olmstead knocked in a corner kick from Roel Torres with a header to make it 3-2 with 12:09 left.
“That was thrilling and it got me so excited,” Olmstead said. “It gave us a chance to come back, but unfortunately we couldn’t come back.”
Austin tied the game at 1-1 in the first half when Torres connected on a 30-yard free kick that he bent inside the right side of the net.
Austin, which had to replace much of roster from last season, is starting to come on strong over its last few contests.
“We’re getting to know each other a lot more. We’re moving a lot better together and we’re passing better now. We still need to work on a lot of stuff,” Olmstead said. “We’re a young team with a lot of new players. We came out and gave it our best. They’re a tough team.”
The Packers finished with five shots on goal and Austin keeper Abraham Manzano had seven saves.
