One stroke of bad luck did the Austin boys soccer team in as they lost to Owatonna 1-0 at Art Hass Stadium Tuesday.

The Huskies (2-1 overall, 1-0 Big Nine) scored the only goal of the night in the 25th minute of the first half when Jose Maya leaped and kicked a loose ball over his head that sailed just over Austin goal keeper Ryan Rasell’s reach and slid just under the cross bar to reach the net.

“It’s a tough one because those shots happen,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said. “You can call it a lucky shot if you want to, but somebody’s going to hit that shot. The guy could try it another thousand times and only make it two times. But he made it when it counted.”

Austin (1-1 overall, 0-1 Big Nine) out-shot Owatonna 12-10 and they had a great chance to tie the game when Martin Manocchio came up with a breakaway shot with 5:33 left in the match. Unfortunately for Austin, Manocchio’s shot came up a little short.

“It was super-frustrating because we outplayed them. We had more shots than they did and the ball was on their half a lot more,” Austin midfielder Jacob Brehmer said. “Marty almost had that one at the end but he didn’t quite kick it hard enough.”

Austin brought the heat in the first half as well, but Owatonna’s John Manthei made three exceptional stops. He made two diving saves and one stop on a point blank look by Austin.

In the second half, the Huskies slowed it down to keep the Packers at bay.

“I think we had them on the run in the second half,” Levisen said. “A team doesn’t resort to the long ball and then waiting in the corner if they’re not worried about something.”

Levisen was pleased with how his squad fought hard all night and he was glad they kept their cool in a physical contest.

“We didn’t retaliate. We kept our composure and we kept playing hard,” he said.