Playing their third game in three days, the Effingham soccer team looked a little tired Thursday, dropping a 4-3 decision at Mt. Zion.

“With our third game this week, and all against solid teams, we were feeling the effects,” EHS coach Weston Peno noted. “But overall, we played pretty well.”

The first half was a back-and-forth affair and ended in a 2-2 tie.

“Entering the second half, momentum was ours and we cleaned up our game by quite a bit,” Peno said. “But Mt. Zion responded with a goal.”

The Hearts battled back to tie at 3-3, but the Braves scored the winning goal with less than a minute to play. Effingham managed to get a couple shots in the final seconds, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Osvaldo Angel scored two goals and Bryan Angel added another and goalie Brandon Duncan recorded 20 saves.

“Just when I think Brandon has played the best he possibly can, he steps up and shows me he can do more,” Peno said. “His season so far has been unreal. I am very proud of our team, despite these recent losses. We will continue to grow and get better.”

Mt. Zion also won the junior varsity contest 5-0.

The Hearts are 6-3 overall and 3-3 in Apollo Conference play. They will host Altamont on Saturday.