The FHC boys’ varsity soccer team dueled the Rockford Rams on Friday evening at FHC.  The Rangers’ inexperience led to a 2-0 loss to a solid opposition.

There is a much different vibe around this year’s team, as compared to the former. Coming into this season as the previous number 3 team in the nation is quite the endeavor; however, getting only 7 players back from that team leaves a whole lot of question marks.

The main focal point that has been a lost cause, is putting the ball in the back of the net. Through 5 games, the Rangers have only posted two goals.

At the half, things seemed to be going smoothly. Junior, Jared Ireland made some decisive saves in net to keep the Rangers afloat. It was a pair of zeroes heading back into the second half. At the break, FHC head coach Blair Lincoln made some adjustments, putting Max Mairn in at goalkeeper. This change allowed Jared to come out of net, and help play in the field.

“Just trying to get a spark tonight, we kept trying to move guys around to see if we could get some good rhythm,” Lincoln said.

That rhythm was never there, as FHC failed to score any goals this evening. Furthermore, FHC gave up two goals back to back early on in the second half, which created an uphill battle from there.

“We’ve lost 3 games and haven’t scored a goal in any of those losses,” Lincoln said.

These losses prove that FHC is in need of a consistent goal scorer on offense. Senior captain Kevin Conn can be that guy, but he needs more help up top. After the loss, senior Noah Saleh talked about some of the inexperience.

“I think a lot of the issue here is communication,” Noah said. “We’re not talking enough. We don’t direct each other with how to play the game. We’re not scoring goals… That’s a big issue in soccer.”

Noah was a huge part in the Rangers success on defense this evening, until he went out with a hamstring injury midway through the first half.

Tomorrow’s game marks the sixth game of the season, as FHC squares off against Portage Northern looking to get some offense going and some goals to secure their third victory of the season. Tomorrow’s game will be played at FHC, beginning at 12:00 PM.