The playoffs might as well start this week for the Douglas boys' soccer team.
After falling to the Damonte Ranch Mustangs on Friday, the Tigers are facing a must-win situation at Wooster on Wednesday.
"It's virtually a playoff game," Douglas coach Milko Vasquez said. "We have no choice. They are in the fourth spot and we need to get past them to even have a shot at the playoffs."
Douglas fell back 3-0 early against Damonte and made it interesting late before losing 5-2.
"We had a lot of early lapses," Vasquez said. "It was mostly miscommunications in the back. The way we were playing, especially in the second half, we should have at least been able to pull even, but you just can't do that when you fall behind early like that."
Troy Cohee had Douglas' first goal of the afternoon. He collected a ball that had bounced around in the goal box following a corner kick and blasted it home.
The Tigers' second score came about when Justin Draper made a nice run down the right side of the field before crossing to Daniel Calderon in the penalty box.
Calderon put a strong finish on it, sending it to the near post for the goal.
Vasquez credited Roy Dornbrook and Gavin Fitzhugh for their play in the back, Audrick Anderson and Justin Draper in the middle and Jake Passas and Daniel Calderson up top.
"Roy showed a lot of leadership in back, especially after the early breakdowns," Vasquez said. "He stepped up and made a difference."
Douglas dropped to 1-9-2 in league play. They play at Wooster Wednesday and at Spanish Springs on Friday.
