ROCHESTER &045; It wasn’t a win for the Albert Lea High School boys’ soccer team.

But it was a major improvement.

The Tigers, who lost 9-0 in their first meeting of the season with Rochester Century, traveled to Rochester for the rematch Tuesday night and dropped a 2-0 decision.

&uot;Overall, we’re pleased with how we played,&uot; said coach Jim Haun. &uot;We improved so much from our first game, when they beat us 9-0.&uot;

This time it was scoreless until the 35th minute of the first half, when the Panthers connected on an open shot from about 18 yards out following a corner kick. Century outshot Albert Lea 10-3 in the first half.

&uot;It took us a while to get started,&uot; said Haun. &uot;The middle 30 minutes were played very even.&uot;

So was the second half, when shots were 8-8. Century scored in the 10th minute.

Ethan Berg was in goal for the Tigers, who got strong defensive play by Jake Levisen, Joe Squires and Andy Stapleton. Midfielder Jeremy Jacobson also played well.

The Tigers’ top scorer, Jake Clark, was injured. The extent was not known Tuesday night.

The JV lost 4-0 and the C-squad fell 3-0.

The Tigers, 3-5-0 in the Big Nine and 5-5-0 overall, host Owatonna for their homecoming game Thursday at Hammer Field.