The Hazen Highlander soccer team fell to 0-2 Tuesday following a 1-0 to the Liberty Partiots in front of a large, home crowd.

Liberty’s only goal came early in the first half. After that, senior captain and keeper Brittany Dinkins was a wall, stopping even a point-blank shot at the 6-minute mark.

But unfortunately, the Liberty defense proved too much for the Highlanders, who were unable to tie the game.

Despite the loss, coach Ken Matthews saw growth from his team as they took on the favored Patriots.

“Last year we lost to Liberty 7-0. It was 5-0 at the half. We brought a lot more to this game and the result showed,” he said in an email.

Matthews also said despite opening the season 0-2, he purposefully scheduled difficult match-ups at the start of the season and said the season thus far has been “encouraging.”

“Tonight, if you were at the game, you have to get excited about the year,” he said.

Hazen plays Prairie at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hazen. Prairie defeated the Highlanders 3-0 last year in the opening round of the district playoffs, ending Hazen’s season.