Soccer: Young Huron gains experience in season-opening loss to Tecumseh

Huron soccer coach Luis Gomez said his team’s goal was to be “competitive during our eight home games at Riverbank Stadium and prepare for a run in the postseason.”

The River Rats took the first step on Friday evening, opening the 2019 season at Tecumseh. Despite losing 4-1, Gomez saw enough good things to bring back a positive outlook.

“It was a big learning experience for the group if you take into account some of the circumstances going into the match,” Gomez said.

The lack of training was one of those circumstances.

“We ended our tryouts on Aug. 20 due to most of the students traveling to Interlochen,” Gomez said. “The team had two training sessions to get to know each other before our match at Tecumseh.”

The River Rats started the game with seven players making their varsity debut and five sophomores saw big minutes in the season opener.

“We weren’t focused defensively for a 12 minute period at the end of the first half which put us in a hole to begin the second half,” Gomez said. “We were able to settle down and move the ball in the second half, forcing an own goal from a corner kick.”

Overall, Gomez saw many positives and believes his young club learned some valuable lessons.

“The staff was happy to see the reaction of the younger players during the second half,” he said. “They will continue to keep growing and we continue teaching them and trusting them. They will be more confident during game 15th or 16th of the season.

“The senior class did an amazing job supporting their younger teammates on the field with guidance and off the field with encouragement from the sidelines.”

The River Rats host Salem at 7 p.m. on Monday before hosting Greenhills at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

Photo by John Discher / Adrian Daily Telegram