The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Outlaws had an up- and-down week that tightened the race in the competitive Oregon West Conference. Sisters started their week with a 0-2 loss at Philomath on Tuesday, September 28, but bounced back two days later with an impressive 9-1 win at home against Cascade.

In Tuesday’s action, Sisters got off to a slow start, and Philomath’s physical and disciplined play gave the Outlaws a run for their money. The Warriors controlled much of the tempo early on. Sisters normally sets the tone of the game early, but this time they were tentative in their play, which allowed the Warriors to move the ball into the Outlaws’ end of the pitch too easily.

Sisters had very few offensive opportunities and were lucky to be down 0-1 at the half.

The Outlaws’ focus for the second half was to play a higher quality game. They were able to create more opportunities, but the Warriors’ strong defense closed down their attacks.

The Warriors scored again and the Outlaws took the loss.

Coach Jeff Husmann said, “We need to work on finishing, as we would often sail the ball too high or not on frame.”

Husmann added that a positive takeaway was seeing how much potential Corbin Fredland has in the keeper position.

“Up to this point he (Fredland) has been primarily a midfield player,” said Husmann. “In this game, he stepped into goal for the first time this season and has earned a starting job.”

The win at home against Cascade two days later is one Husmann said that coaches will remember.

“We’ve recently struggled with scoring goals even when we’ve created opportunities, and this game proved to be a release of some scoring frustration,” said Husmann.

The Outlaws came out firing on all cylinders. Center midfielder Aidan Eckert got the scoring spree started just two minutes into the game with a well-placed shot into the net.

Sisters had opportunity to score again in the 15th minute after a penalty in the box, but Vince Christian’s PK (penalty kick) hit the post and bounced out. A minute later Ricky Huffman scored his first of several goals for the night, off an Eckert assist.

Cascade scored their lone goal after a foul was called about 30 yards from the goal. The Cougars took advantage and the well-struck ball dipped just under the crossbar for the score.

With just under a minute left in the first half, Huffman scored his second goal with another assist from Eckert, and at the half Sisters held a 3-1 lead.

Huffman scored his hat -trick goal just one minute into the second half, thanks to an assist from Tate Kaczmarek, and five minutes later Kaczmarek scored on a beautifully struck penalty kick to give the Outlaws a 5-1 advantage.

Sisters kept the scoring onslaught going. In the 53rd minute, Huffman maneuvered his way through the Cougars’ defense and found the net for his fourth goal of the night. With 20 minutes left on the clock, Kaczmarek scored with an assist from Vince Christian. Shortly after that, Kaczmarek returned the favor with a crafty assist to Christian for his second goal.

Christian had a chance to redeem the earlier missed PK in the first half. There was a foul in the box and with calm and poise, Christian tucked the ball into the back of the net for the Outlaws’ ninth and final goal of the night.

“The boys were so stoked with this performance, as were the coaches,” said Husmann. “This is the caliber of game we are capable of. We certainly have work to do, but the guys are committed to the road ahead. I do love this team, not just as athletes, but as individuals.”

Huffman led the Outlaws’ scoring spree with five goals on the night.

“Ricky often has two or three guys on him, and yet still finds a way to score,” said Husmann. “He has had a couple frustrating games as teams certainly mark him, so it was so good to see him have such a prolific outing.”

Huffman said, “Every single one of us put up a fantastic fight and we played extremely well as a team. Noah (Pittman) had a great defensive game and prevented several possible shot attempts from the other team. He also had a great assist on the second goal, which put us in the lead that we kept for the rest of the game. And Gavin (Christian) and Vince (Christian) had great games on the offensive end as well.”

The Outlaws are currently 2-2-1 in league and 5-2-1 overall. Sisters will play at home against Riverside on Saturday, October 9.