It can take less than a minute for the dam to break.

Trinity Lutheran’s boys soccer team gave up two goals in 33 seconds in a 3-1 loss to Salem Monday.

In the first half, the Cougars got on the board with 21:47 on the clock.

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Andrew Emily placed a corner kick into the center of the box and teammate Noah Criswell used his hip to deflect the ball in to give the Cougars a 1-0 advantage.

The Lions answered with 3:12 left in the half, as Bryan Hamilton converted a penalty kick after taking slide tackle in the box.

“It felt like we were in control in the first half of the first half,” Cougars coach Brandon Tabeling said.

“It was pretty even for about 40 minutes after we scored.”

Neither team could put the ball in the back of the net in the opening minutes out of intermission.

In the first 20 minutes, Jacob Keith saved a pair of free kicks.

With 11:45 remaining, Hamilton scored his second goal of the night by finishing a cross from Garrett Wiseman from inside 12 yards.

The Lions scored again at 11:12.

Trinity’s defense misplayed a ball from the outside into the middle, and Jesus Garcia-Salas took possession for the Lions from about 25 yards out.

Garcia-Salas beat a Cougars defender, and Keith, before placing the ball in from 15 yards with his left foot.

While they had multiple chances, including three straight corner kicks, the Cougars wouldn’t score again in the game as the time ran out.

Tabeling said the Lions came out ready to play the second half.

“They came out and put it on us,” he said. “It’s a credit to them, they came out ready to play and get a win. We came out flat and expecting to win. We let them attack and reacted.”

The Cougars returned a pair of players in their game against the Lions, but Sawyer Doggett left in the first half with a leg injury.

“We’re kind of battling injuries right now,” Tabeling said. “In a way, we’re kind of used to battling injuries. We’ve only played with 10 or 11 the past two games. It was nice to have at least one sub in the beginning and another for each half. That’s our biggest problem right now, trying to get ready for the end of the season.”

Keith recorded six saves in goal, and the Cougars were outshot 9-6 in the game.

The Cougars (2-4-3) will meet the Lions again on Thursday, as they play each other in the Warrior Cup at Scottsburg.