MANKATO &045; Albert Lea High School boys’ soccer coach Jim Haun said it looked like the Tigers hadn’t played in a week, but there was a good reason.

They hadn’t.

The result was a slow start at Mankato East, but the Tigers rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit for a 4-1 victory Thursday night.

&uot;We came out and played hard,&uot; said Haun. &uot;We had a lot of chances to score in the first half, but just couldn’t finish.&uot;

It was 0-0 until 2:30 remaining in the first half, when the Cougars scored their lone goal. Albert Lea outshot East 13-7 in the first half.

The Tigers’ Justin McGinnis tied it in the fifth minute of the second half, scoring from about 25 yards out on an assist from Jeremy Jacobson.

Albert Lea took the lead less than two minutes later, when Jake Levisen nailed a penalty kick from 50 yards away.

Brady Plantage scored on a penalty kick in the 15th minute.

The final goal came in the 34th minute, when Nate Lombardi broke free on the right side and beat the goalie on about a 17-yard shot.

&uot;It was obvious we hadn’t played for a week in the first half,&uot; said Haun. &uot;But the guys pulled it together at halftime and in the second half took over the midfield. Our defenders had a real good second half.&uot;

Eric Hutchison and Ethan Berg split time at goalie for the Tigers.

Albert Lea outshot Mankato East 24-13.

The junior varsity won 4-3, with Brian Christianson scoring two goals and Nick McPherson and Inseong Hwang one apiece. The C-squad posted a 7-0 shutout. Matt Bennett scored two goals. Garret Larson, Xavier Carias, Delphino Ambriz, Kyle Kirsch and Arturo Lazaro each scored one goal. Jon Hatcher had the shutout in goal.

The Tigers, 7-5, host Rochester Mayo Tuesday.