Having lost to Blue Valley North during their season opener, Head coach Brian Pollack said winning today’s game was an important second chance for the Huskies. 

“I would be lying if I didn’t say that this was a pride game,” Pollack said. “I told the boys that when you get a second chance, you make good on it.” 

Senior and captain Andrew Mitchell added on to Pollack, saying he was focused on getting revenge on North.

Fellow senior and captain Ryan Masterson agreed with Mitchell, saying the Huskies knew they were the better team going into the game. 

Both Mitchell and Masterson noted the team’s new defensive shape as an aspect that helped them win the game.

“[North] just played long balls, so we had them marked up,” Mitchell said. 

The new defensive formation consisted of two holding midfielders and three defenders. Pollack said this gave the team an extra layer of protection. 

“When we are in a three-back we can be compromised with width,” Pollack said. “So the double six allowed us to slide somebody over if we got extended.” 

Despite the Huskies having possession of the ball for the majority of the first half, the game was scoreless at halftime. 

Pollack said he believed his team played a great first half, despite the ball not finding the back of the net. 

Northwest came out strong to start the second half. Junior Sam McIntosh scored the first goal of the game with 34:42 left to play. Following him, junior Parker Million scored a penalty kick with 23:29 remaining. 

Mitchell scored the team’s third goal with 10:52 left. Senior Mike Steenson scored the fourth and final goal with 8:44 left in the game. Senior goalie Asher Kurr delivered a shutout for Northwest. 

Moving forward, Mitchell said the team needs to take this game in stride and continue with their season.

“We just have to build from it,” Mitchell said. “We started the season one and two, now we are two and two, and by beating our rivals, we have to build.”