The Lake Oswego boys varsity soccer team ended its season with an emotional 3-2 loss to West Linn last Thursday.

Before the game, the Lakers celebrated Senior Night. Seniors Ben Altman, Chris Anissian, Sam Atchinson, Aaron Rudder, Johann Shahalami and Joey Takach were escorted onfield by family members for the national anthem. After a team cheer, the game began.

Lake Oswego was having trouble playing cohesively in the first half. West Linn scored within the first 40 seconds of the game, and at halftime the score was 3-0.

However, the Lakers fought back in the second half, scoring two goals in the fourth quarter. The latter of the two hit the net with only 17 seconds left on the clock.

Overall, Lake Oswego went 5-6 (3-6 in league games) and finished the season seated at 35th in the state for 6A. Only the top 32 teams proceed to the state championship, so the Lakers will unfortunately not be competing this year, despite initial expectations of making the cut.

However, with a fairly young team—seven uniors, three sophomores and even a freshman—next year promises to be a competitive season. With any luck, the Lakers will qualify for the state championship next year.