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A somber group of Steamboat Springs soccer players huddled at the far end of Dudley Field on Thursday afternoon trying to figure out what was missing in the team's 3-0 loss to the Moffat County Bulldogs.

"We've got to go out and find some heart," Sailor Tyler Andrew said. "If we can do that, we can beat all these teams -- but it's just not there right now."

Steamboat gave up three first half goals en route to dropping the team's sixth straight game. Steamboat is now 2-6 in league play and 2-8 for the season.

But on the other end of the field, the Moffat County Bulldogs celebrated.

The victory marked the first time the Bulldogs have ever beaten Steamboat Springs at home and the first time the team swept the season series.

Bulldog Hugo Quezada provided all the offense Moffat County would need to win Thursday's game when he scored three minutes into the first half.

Steamboat goalkeeper Jordan Gray got a hand on Quezada's shot, but the ball had just enough bounce to find the back of the net to make the score 1-0.

But the Bulldogs were not done.

Less than 10 minutes later, Miquel Martinez beat Gray to a loose ball in front of Steamboat's goal. The Moffat County player fired the shot past the Steamboat goalkeeper to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 2-0.

The final Moffat County goal also came in the first half, this time off the foot of Jose Loya-Mendoza who fired the perfectly placed shot over the top of Gray.

At the half, Steamboat coach Rob Bohlmann asked his players to dig deep to find a way to turn things around in the game.

Steamboat came out more inspired in the second half but continued to have problem's building the attack.

Steamboat never threatened Moffat County in the game and only came away with a couple of solid scoring chances.

"Today was a disappointing day," Bohlmann said. "We didn't play a high level of soccer. It wasn't one specific thing, but it just wasn't happening for us today."

Steamboat is scheduled to face Palisade -- a team it beat earlier this year -- Saturday at Dudley field. That game will begin at 11 a.m.

The Moffat County Bulldogs are now 5-3-1 in league play and 5-5-1 overall. The team will play Delta in Delta on Saturday.

-- To reach John F. Russell call 871-4200

or mail jrussell@steamboatpilot.com