Simply stated, Saturday’s 5-0 loss to Fort Zumwalt West in the quarterfinal of the state championships was one of the worst losses in the history of Oakville Senior High School girls’ soccer.

For head coach Dave Robben, the loss was particularly frustrating in that the Tigers had given up only 16 goals this season.

“I thought that earlier in the season that we had some games … where you think: ‘OK this is the bottom and you get over that game,'” Robben told the Call. “But if you were to tell me that this was going to be the score against these girls and against this defense, there’s no way I would accept that.”

Only one other time in recent years did the Tigers have an opponent score more than four goals against them in one game.

Nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas of Overland Park, Kan., tagged Oakville for a 6-0 loss last season.

The Tigers (18-5-2, 7-0-1 Suburban West) struggled throughout much of the game as Fort Zumwalt jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead by halftime. The Jaguars’ Alyssa Mautz tagged the Tigers for two goals, which brought her total to 28 this season.

Oakville had dropped a 2-1 decision at Fort Zumwalt on March 28, but the Tigers were well prepared for their opponent on Saturday, according to the Oakville head coach.

“We played them earlier this season and we watched that game tape yesterday and we knew what to expect, so there were no surprises,” Robben said. “Our assistant coach scouted them the other night when they played Hazelwood West, and we knew what we were going to do.”

Despite the loss, Robben was quite complimentary of the play of sophomore defender Amanda Teschner, who came a few yards short of scoring for the Tigers from about 30 yards out.

“She’s someone that played all the way to the end,” Robben said. “She didn’t quit. She didn’t stop.”

The Tigers graduate just three seniors from this season’s roster as goalkeeper Lindsey Goodin, midfielder Megan Reel and defender Hillary Scott move on to the collegiate ranks.

“We felt coming in that we had a good game plan, and it was just a matter of executing,” Robben said. “Our preparation for this game was complete.”