The Hazen Highlanders soccer team season came to an end Tuesday night with a 3-0 opening round playoff loss to Prairie at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.

The two teams played a tight match that was anyone’s game until late, when Prairie pushed through three goals, all after the 58th minute. According to coach Ken Matthews, his team still played well after the first goal, but the second, just eight minutes later on a ball “bouncing around the box” was a “dealbreaker” for his team.

Despite the loss, Mattthews praised his team’s play.

“That was our best physical effort of the seaosn tonight,” he said in an email. “We were fighting for every ball and didn’t back off their physical play.

“I’m very proud of how the girls played,” he said.

It was an up-and-down season for the Highlanders, whose difficult schedule put the team in a hole at the beginning of the season. Hazen battled back through the season, however, earning a playoff spot and just missing out on a third straight Seamount League championship.