Badgers’ midfielder Emmanuel Lopez dribbles the ball along the sideline as he works his way up the pitch against Hendrickson Tuesday evening. PHOTO BY RICHARD AKRIDGE The Badgers have one last shot.

After picking up its lone victory of the season in the District 49-4A opener against Leander Rouse, Lampasas’ varsity boys soccer team has spiraled downward, and finds itself riding a 12-match losing streak following a 7-1 home loss to Hendrickson.

Tonight, in the season finale at home against Marble Falls, the Badgers have one last chance to taste victory.

But head coach Greg Porter knows the team must commit to improving several key areas if it wants to walk away from the 2010 season with a with a win.

“I would like to see the players finish [scoring] opportunities,” the coach said. “I would like to see us man up on the opponent because that is what staged most of our scoring opportunities [against Hendrickson].

“I would also like to see us clear the ball better when we are on the run because our failure to clear effectively resulted in [numerous] opponent goals.”

Although the Badgers lost by six goals in Tuesday’s match -- originally scheduled to be hosted by Hendrickson, but relocated to Lampasas after inclement playing conditions forced the Badgers to travel to Pflugerville earlier in the season -- positives did emerge from the defeat.

Following consecutive shutout losses by a combined 15 goals, Lampasas increased its shot production and snapped its scoreless streak.

“I was pleased that we had several scoring opportunities,” Porter said. “We had eight legitimate opportunities to score, but barely missed.”

Senior forward Alonso Lopez tallied the Badgers’ only goal of the match off a penalty kick.

While the opportunities were there, Lampasas failed to capitalize, and the Hawks earned a season-sweeping victory. Earlier in the season, when the Badgers unexpectedly played at Hendrickson, the home team won 9-0 to give Lampasas its worst loss of district play.

The Badgers rebounded to score four goals over the next four matches, but have since suffered a string of lopsided losses.

At home, Lampasas lost 7-0 to Lake Travis in a match called by officials in the second half, and then traveled to Hutto, where the Hippos earned a 8-0 victory before Hendrickson handled the Badgers Tuesday.

Despite their poor play of late, the Badgers are looking to end the 2010 district season in the same way they began it: with a home victory.

The Mustangs won the first match-up 4-0 on their home pitch and enter the regular season finale looking to secure a playoff spot with a tie or win.

After narrowly beating out Lampasas for the final playoff spot last season, the Mustangs were eliminated by Austin Travis 7-0 in the bi-district round of the 2009 postseason.

Tonight’s match is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m.