For a team that finished 1-2 at the Fountain Hills Invitational Tournament in Phoenix this past weekend, the Sedona Red Rock High School boys soccer team was awfully cheerful on the bus ride home, according to first-year Head Coach Cindy Hauserman.

Having lost close matches with Maricopa High School on Friday, Dec. 17, and Valley Christian High School on Saturday, Dec. 18, the Scorpions found themselves down five players due to injury.

Each of the matches were 1-0 losses for the Scorpions, with the first coming against Maricopa which was an own-goal by Sedona.

Junior goalkeeper Kyle DeTar was outstanding, recording 12 saves against the 4A-II conference school, but gave up one off his own teammate.

In the Valley Christian match, DeTar recorded 13 saves in the 1-0 loss, while Sedona had only five shots on goal.

Sedona had one match left on the schedule Saturday in Scottsdale Christian Academy, and decided to play despite only 10 healthy bodies able to go.

“We had five guys that were hurt so we only had 10 players. But I must say, we played so well. It was the best I’ve seen us play,” Hauserman said.

Seniors Ryan Lillie [ankle], Cristhian Lara [foot], Dylan George-Sills and Miguel Marcelino all sat out Saturday’s final match while junior Jose Saucedo sat out as well with an ankle injury.

In the 47th minute with the teams tied 0-0, senior Tyler Hollmann found a crease in the Eagles defense and scored a goal, making it a 1-0 affair, which was the final.

The win with 10 players picked up the spirits of Sedona according to Hauserman, and she hopes this will launch them into the remaining schedule with plenty of momentum.

“We had great passing, great formation and we were able to come home feeling good about ourselves,” Hauserman said.

Currently, the Scorpions are 4-5 overall this season and 2-2 in the 1A-3A North region.

Next up, Sedona is scheduled to play host to Northwest Christian High School on Thursday, Jan. 6. Scheduled start time is set for 6 p.m.