Sometimes, it’s just not your night.

The Cavaliers (14-6-5) were upended by Hays 2-1 Friday night in Dripping Springs, abruptly ending a playoff run that head coach Ian Dillon felt like could last a few more rounds.

“It’s frustrating. It’s one of those things where typically, my stomach would be in knots and I’d be worried about it,” he said. “It’s not like I didn’t believe we were going to win, but every time it didn’t happen when it should have happened, it just kept re-emphasizing that it wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t understand it, but it happens.”

Lake Travis opened the scoring in the game when Kramer Fyfe scored midway through the first half, and it appeared at that point that Lake Travis held an edge.

But before the half ended Hays scored twice – once on a breakaway and again on a fluke ball up the middle just a few minutes later. The Rebels stole the momentum and sucked the wind out of the Cavaliers’ sails.

Lake Travis dominated possession in the second half, but attempt after attempt on goal found the crossbar, the post or missed just wide. The bounces weren’t going the Cavaliers’ way.

“We played a good game, it’s not like we got beat on the field,” Dillon said. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”

Still, he was looking for reasons as to why things didn’t quite click the way they needed to.

“It’s my job to figure out what we could have done differently in preparation for tonight,” he said. “I think our last practice before tonight started off really focused and sharp, and maybe it went on too long because we lost focus and got sloppy. Maybe next time we should wrap it up a little earlier.”

On the other side of the field, Dillon was impressed by a Hays squad that played tough and didn’t live up to its reputation as a dirty team.

“I feel like I have to eat crow a little bit because they didn’t play nasty like I thought they would,” he said. “If they read what I said and that’s why – then I’m glad I said it. I have to retract the statement now because they played a good game.”

A good game that ended Dillon’s first season at the helm of the Lake Travis soccer program. Disappointing for sure, but anytime you make it three rounds deep in the playoffs, it’s a good starting point.

“We had a good season. I’m not going to flaunt anything, though,” Dillon said. “I felt like we had a shot at Dripping Springs or Boerne Champion in the regional semifinals. If we had made it to Corpus, I think it would have been something to be extremely proud of. Still, we accomplished a lot and I’m proud of that, but we didn’t quite make it to that next tier we’re reaching for.”

For now, he has to find a way to replace a senior group led by one of the best scorers in Central Texas – Kramer Fyfe.

“Kramer is irreplaceable and every time I think about him leaving, there’s a panic that goes through me because he’s irreplaceable,” Dillon said. “We have other seniors, too – Dillon Johnson saved us so many times tonight, Thomas Matheney has been the backbone of the team in the locker room and kept everyone positive, Nathan Lowe came on strong at the end and was awesome tonight in the second half and I don’t want to forget anyone, but right now it’s tough. This is my first senior class and it’s going to be tough to replace them.”

With most of the team returning, though, the expectations will be high heading into next season.

“We’ve got a lot of talented kids coming back,” Dillon said. “At the end of one year, it’s just starting to feel like it’s really my team. So I can only imagine what it’s going to feel like the next few years.”

As for the loss that ended the first year – Dillon said it’s not something he’s going to hold on to.

“I’ll reference this loss,” he said. “Anything that’s this terminal, if that’s the best word, or something this final and disappointing, is always worth referencing. I can’t point to anything we did or didn’t do tonight, but I can reference it as a night when things don’t always go your way. But we kept coming back and in that way, it’s a positive reference.”