Credit the game plan.

Auburn Mountainview senior Christian Rotter attributed the Lions’ 3-2 season-ending loss in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs Tuesday night against Roosevelt to the Roughriders’ scheme.

“I think they came in with a good game plan,” he said. “They had good guys up top and they were dropping them into the middle and it was really effective against us.”

Rotter, who played with Auburn Mountainview as a freshman and sophomore before focusing on track last season, said he had never seen a similar strategy used in his high school or club playing experience.

“I’ve been double-teamed in league – I was triple-teamed one game – but it was always out of their positions,” he said. “I’ve never had a personal-man mark assigned to follow me around the whole field. That took me awhile to get used to. It did its job. I could never get going.

“It was one (defense) we weren’t expecting. I don’t think we ever could’ve expected it.”

But Roosevelt coach Gary Hunter said he knew his team was the underdog entering the contest at Auburn Memorial Stadium, and the Roughriders had to play a different style to be successful.

“The thing was we had a plan and the kids followed it,” Hunter said. “They had some really good players, and we needed to keep their eyes out for them.”

And sophomore forward/midfielder Avery Jacobson took care of most of the rest. He scored goals in the 17th and 37th minutes to give Roosevelt (14-4-2), the No. 4 seed out from District 2, a 2-0 lead. Junior Erik DeAnda scored a minute later to reduce the Lions’ deficit to 2-1 at halftime.

But the goal was not enough to swing the momentum. That is because sophomore forward Alex Lowe took possession about 30 yards out before breaking away from defenders and beating goalkeeper Grayson Chester one-on-one with a shot into the left side of the net.

That enabled Hunter to pull a third defender into the back row with a dozen minutes left. Despite that, DeAnda scored his 26th goal of the season off a deflection past senior goalkeeper Darius Ochoa to reduce Auburn Mountainview’s deficit to 3-2 in the 71st minute.

“He’s one that doesn’t maybe have all of the athletic tools, but he knows his way around the goal,” Rotter said of DeAnda. “He puts himself in places to score and he converts them when he’s there. He’s a guy you love to have on your team.”

But it was not enough for the Lions, the No. 1 seed from District 3, to secure their second state playoff win in program history. Last year, Auburn Mountainview defeated Kamiakin in the first round before losing against Garfield in the quarterfinals.

Second-year coach Jason Shrader highlighted the program’s success afterward. This was the first time the Lions, who finished with a 16-3-0 record, won league and district championships in their 11-year history.

“These Lions should keep their heads up,” Shrader said. “We had a fantastic and historical season. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”