FRUITPORT – There were a few tears of sadness and frustration from the players on the Fruitport girls soccer team on Tuesday night, and that was understandable.

For the second straight year, the Trojans had a very good regular season, and for the second straight year it all ended with a 2-1 loss to Allendale in the Division 2 district semifinals.

To make it harder, the loss came closely on the heels of a tough 3-1 loss to powerful NorthPointe Christian in the O-K Silver conference championship game.

There is a very real silver lining for the Trojans, however, because they are extremely young for a varsity squad, with a lot of talent that’s still developing.

A total of 14 players listed on Tuesday’s roster are either sophomores or freshmen, and several of those youngsters are among the most skilled on the team.

A year or two from now, when the big wins come, the Trojans may very well look back and view the early losses as building blocks.

“I think we’ came out a little flat, and we’re still young,” said Fruitport head coach Kyle Hall. “I don’t know if shell shock is the right word, but we just weren’t physical enough to begin. But you learn the most from losses, and hopefully these losses kind of push us going forward.”

The Trojans finished the season with a 13-6 record, and all 13 victories were shutouts.

Ava Powell, the standout goalie who played a big role in all of those shutouts, is one of six seniors on the team who won’t be on the field to enjoy the successes of the future.

The other departing seniors are Payton Pietrzak, Shea Harrison, Kaylynn Pavilige, Violet Olinghouse and Gracelynn Olson.

“They brought an attitude that we want,” Coach Hall said about the seniors. “They stepped in and they’ve been quiet leaders. We can’t thank them enough for what they did with their demeanor, and how they helped us push the program forward.”

The Trojans were put back on their heels early in the game when an Allendale shot hit the crossbar of the goal just two minutes into the contest.

In the 14th minute, Allendale’s Ella Meyer ripped a shot to the top right corner of the net to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

“They were physical and kind of took us out of our game,” Hall said. “We weren’t moving the ball as well as we could. Then we gave up the goal and it just was what it was.”

The score remained 1-0 at halftime despite Allendale outshooting Fruitport 7-2 in the first 40 minutes.

After halftime, the Trojans rebounded and controlled the ball more, and it paid off.

Freshman Regan Wilson scored about eight minutes into the half to tie the score at 1-1.

The tie only lasted for about 10 minutes, however, before Meyer ripped a shot from 27 yards out that found the net, giving Allendale its final lead.

The Falcons outshot the Trojans 2-1 the remainder of the way and held on for the victory.

Allendale outshot Fruitport 12-4 in the game.