After Thursday’s game with Owatonna Albert Lea boys’ soccer senior captain Lars Gjersvik’s body said it all.

His jersey soaked in sweat had taken on a greenish hue from grass stains and slowly he led the team in a post game stretch on the field. The stains could have represented an entire season’s worth of frustration for the Tigers.

Despite all the effort the Tigers (2-7, 0-4 Big Nine) exerted and a man advantage for the entire second half, the team came away with its seventh loss of the season, this time a 2-0 loss to the Huskies at Hammer Field.

“The character of this team is undeniable,” said Albert Lea head coach Elia Romano. “A blind person could see how hard they’re working out there. That’s a real testament to these guys because it’s getting real hard on everybody.”

Two days after one of their worst efforts of the year the Tigers responded with one of their better against Owatonna (7-5, 5-1 Big Nine). Albert Lea had just six shots on goal Tuesday against Mankato West in a 3-1 loss, but Thursday the Tigers had 20.

The Huskies scored in the 19th minute when Mohamed Hassen knocked in a rebound from a shot off the foot of Eric Teaman. Owatonna added to the lead with less than four minutes to play. Carson Running broke in behind the Albert Lea defense for a one-on-one with Tigers’ keeper Cameron Hove. Hove made the initial save but the ball bounced off Hove and right to the foot of Running, who buried it into the open net for a shorthanded goal.

Ahmed Hussein received a red card in the 30th minute of the game for swearing, but Owatonna still applied pressure throughout the game.

In the second half Albert Lea started to look more dangerous on the attack. With under 10 minutes to play Aldo Campos had a one-on-one with the Huskies keeper but fired wide of the net.

Five minutes later Cal Pirsig was taken down inside the Owatonna 18-yard box and was awarded a penalty kick. Huskies’ keeper John Manthei made the save on Pirsig’s penalty kick and kept Albert Lea scoreless.

“It seems like we all were way more intense and just moving the ball a lot better and playing one-touch passing and attacking more,” Gjersvik said. “We were trying to stay on their side of the field instead of holding the ball on our side of the field.”

The Tigers have just eight goals on the season and haven’t been able to pose a threat offensively yet this season, something Romano knew the team would struggle with this season, but Thursday was perhaps a point the team can use a springboard to becoming more of a scoring threat.

“We’re hitting the ball with a little more intent, confidently, and if we can continue to do that, the goals will come and the results will follow,” Romano said.

Albert Lea will get a chance to post a win and some goals Saturday when Mankato Loyola comes to Albert Lea.

“If we can bring this kind of attitude to the next few matches I have no doubt that we’re going to turn in some results very shortly,” Romano said.