Though the results were similar, a pair of 1-0 losses suffered last week by the Upper Perkiomen boys soccer team carried differing value, according to head coach

Upper Perk senior Jack Cupitt heads a loose ball against Pottsgrove.

Kyle Fisher. He described an Oct. 17 loss to Boyertown as a quality performance.

            "There are good losses and bad losses," the coach said.

            Fisher said the performance was devoid of several of the mistakes the team had committed in a home loss to Pottsgrove two days earlier.

            "When we play well and lose, I feel better about our prospects," Fisher said.

            The coach was not happy with the Tribe's execution on Oct. 15 against the visiting Falcons, who got a game-winning goal from Luke Kaiser in the first half. According to Fisher, the Tribe lacked patience with the ball and forced the play unnecessarily forward.

            "To borrow a hockey analogy, we got caught in a dump and chase mentality," he said. "That strategy is more difficult to execute against better teams."

            Except for the scoring scramble in front of their net, the Indians defense handled some dominant offensive players. According to Fisher, Pottsgrove was not able to sustain much of an offensive attack.

            Matt Milkowich had the team's best scoring opportunity. He got close to the opposing net, but poked a shot of the cage, according to the coach.

            "Matt was under a lot of pressure," Fisher said.

            Following a Zoom meeting between games, where they analyzed their performance against the Falcons, the players delivered a more thoughtful effort against Boyertown, according to the coach. He said they displayed better patience with the ball.

            "We possessed the ball better and didn't have as many turnovers in the midfield," Fisher said.

            However, the Indians (3-4-2) couldn't prevent the game's only goal. The coach described the Bears Dimitrije Randjelovic's second-half goal, on a penalty corner, as perfectly executed.

            Goalkeeper Matt Wanamaker recorded eight saves, though the coach said his goalkeeper wasn't otherwise challenged. Offensively, the Tribe had some scoring opportunities in the middle of and late in the game, but couldn't convert.

            On Tuesday at Methacton, the Tribe suffered a third straight loss in the Pioneer Athletic Conference by an identical score.  The team allowed a goal in the second half on a header by Chris Rowland. Wanamaker stopped three shots.

            Fisher said he expects the close games to continue the rest of the season. Most of this year's conference games are a race to score twice.

            In order to qualify for the District One Class 3A playoffs, the Indians would likely need to win two of their final four games, according to Fisher. They enter the final three games – against Spring-Ford (Thursday), Perkiomen Valley (Oct. 24) and Owen J. Roberts (Oct. 27) – in fourth place in the district standings. With a ranking of 8.117, UP leads Springfield-Montco by more than 2 ½ points and trails No. 3 Upper Moreland by 0.256 points, according to the district's website.