The varsity Cougar boys were on the road for the opening round of the soccer playoffs and lost at Sonora to end their season.

“We were up 1-0 at half,” head coach Paul Silva said of the Feb. 14 Division 5 contest. “The goal was scored by Luis Flores on a corner kick, assisted by Andy Alpizar. Played our best half of the season, created so many opportunities. Unfortunately we only converted the one goal.”

The Cougars also started the second half strong, said the coach, but couldn’t regain their footing once the Wildcats got the equalizer.

“Once we conceded the tying goal, we lost our composure and stopped working as a team,” the coach admitted. “Became too individualistic and completely lost our rhythm. The game reflected our season, rarely played a complete game the way we needed to play.”

Sonora scored all four of its goals over the final 40 minutes while Escalon was shut out in the second half.

The Cougars ended the season at 11-7-5.

Silva said there will be some adjustments to make ahead of next year’s campaign, with the team losing several seniors.

“Sophomore and junior classes are light on numbers, will probably be fielding a younger team,” he said. “It will be a good opportunity for guys to get more playing time and fill leadership roles.”