SANTA ROSA >> Even if the final score doesn’t reflect it, the Upper Lake Cougars under the direction of first-year coach Kevin O’Brien are starting to put some of the pieces together.
Upper Lake fell 11-2 to Sonoma Academy in a North Central League II boys’ soccer game on Friday in Santa Rosa, getting goals from Alverto Solano on a direct kick and from Josh Williams on a penalty kick.
“I’m starting to see some improvement,” O’Brien said. “There were moments in the game where we looked like we were really hanging in there.”
Despite allowing seven first-half goals, the Cougars (0-4 league, 0-5 overall) trailed just 3-0 through the first 20 minutes.
“And we held them scoreless for the first 17 minutes of the second half,” O’Brien said. “We’re building a foundation for future success.”
Best of all, according to O’Brien, “nobody quit” during the game.
“It was a team effort … everybody played well together,” O’Brien said.
The Cougars hit the road Tuesday to play Technology before returning home next Friday to take on St. Vincent.
