Senior midfielder Garrett MacLauchlan said he believes they played their best soccer in their last two games against Walton and McIntosh despite some problems.
“We have had a lot of injuries on our team with players who usually start,” MacLauchlan said. “Despite being down some players, we still played well and are going to the playoffs.”
On Wednesday night against Walton (10-5-1), the Panthers (13-4-1) tied 1-1 in a hard-fought game.
“The boys played well together throughout the game,” head coach Mike Hanie said. “As a team we need to work on defending better on corner kicks before the next game.”
The Panthers were undefeated in Region 4-AAAAA games going into the championship game against McIntosh (18-0) on Friday, April 19. They lost 3-0 in a game many players said they did not play their best.
“I feel like we didn’t play to our full potential,” senior midfielder Kyle Ulversoy said. “We could have connected more passes and brought the game to McIntosh, but I think the early goal really brought down our spirits and we didn’t play as a team after that.”
The last regular-season game before the state playoffs begin is tomorrow night at home against Northside High School (7-4-2).