Saturday did not start well for the Albert Lea High School boys’ soccer team.

By late afternoon, things had definitely taken a turn for the better.

The Tigers lost 2-0 to Mankato West in the opening round of the Albert Lea Invitational but bounced back to beat defending Class A state champion Southwest Minnesota Christian for third place.

&uot;We weren’t able to get it going against West,&uot; said Tigers coach Jim Haun. &uot;One of our parents observed that we’re not a morning team, and it seems that way.&uot;

It was scoreless, though, until the 29th minute. The Scarlets’ second score came seven minutes into the second half. West outshot Albert Lea 18-5.

The Tigers came out strong against SWMC, taking a 3-0 halftime lead on a goal by Jake Clark and two by Jeremy Jacobson. Assists went to Taylor Zimmerman and Ben Frayne. Clark scored in the second half on an assist from Nate Lombardi.

Haun said Eric Hutchison played a great game in goal and got outstanding defensive support from Jake Levisen, Joe Squires, Ryan Lowe, Brady Plantage, Andy Stapleton, Kurtis Bohrnstedt, Dustin Boyer and Logan Schallock.

Mankato West went on to win the championship 4-1 over Northfield, which shut out SWMC 1-0 in the opening round.