Hammer Field was cold and windswept on Saturday. No gusts, just a strong, steady push that stopped balls in midair and drove the cold deep into each body it found.

For the Albert Lea Tigers, the chill was intensified by the sting of defeat. Their season ended with a 4-3 shootout loss to Mankato West in a Section 2A girls’ soccer quarterfinal.

To ALHS coach Rick Barnhill, it was some of the worst conditions his team could play in but only one of the four goals scored in regulation was with the wind. Balls had to be close to the body and close to the ground. The Tigers are a team that likes to air it out, so they had to adapt.

In the 20th minute, sophomore Leah Walters became this year’s second-highest scorer by inking her fifth goal. Nine minutes later, freshman Conner Peterson notched her first varsity goal becoming the 13th and final Tiger to score this season. The half ended with the locals leading 2-1.

The Scarlets tied it up midway through the second half and held off the Tigers through the balance of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes.

Shootouts favor the shooter, but it is a pressure cooker for the keeper to stop balls at point-blank range. The Scarlet keeper got to two Tiger shots and one went over the bar. Only Kendra Olchefske’s ball found its mark. Three West shots later the fifth-seeded Scarlets ended the fourth-seeded Tiger’s season.

&uot;This game was a capsulated view of the season,&uot; noted Barnhill. &uot;Opportunities were missed and pivotal moments were not seized. The girls worked hard and played a strong game but had trouble getting the ball to the back of the net.

&uot;Still, the girls have had a pretty amazing regular season. The team won one more game than last year, but scored 31 goals and gave up 32. Last year it was 22 and 39, respectively. They shut out five teams and outshot their opponents 265-237. All of this provides a secure foundation of achievement to build upon.&uot;

At an impromptu ceremony and team meeting, Barnhill gave out a season’s worth of player of the week awards.

Players of the week were Stacie Armstrong, Jenny Birkhofer, Jenna Christensen, Tessa Christensen, Laura Hillman, Kendra Olchefske, Leah Walters and Whitney Wilson. Reserve players of the week were Katie Kjos, Brittini Lair, Conner Peterson and Tiffany Schrader.

Looking forward to next season, Barnhill was very direct with his team.

&uot;We are only graduating five seniors off the squad, but there are now 11 open starting slots and five open reserve spots available for girls in grades 7-12 next year,&uot; he said. &uot;This is a competitive program and past performance is no guarantee of future participation.&uot;