Soakai, who teamed effectively with No 8 Steven Setephano and blindside flanker Eben Joubert in the 36-16 loss, said Otago competed well for the ball in its second challenge this season.
"Our set piece went well and line-outs and defence were good. But we did not find many opportunities out there. They created a lot more opportunities and that put us under a lot of pressure," he said.
"You couldn't fault our energy and passion, especially at the breakdown. But Stephen Brett ran a pretty good cutter out there for them."
Brett, one of the most inconsistent players in New Zealand, had a good day on Saturday, scoring one try and creating another.
"He made some good links out there and some of his kicks put us under pressure in our own 22. They had a pretty inexperienced back three, with a winger playing fullback, but we didn't seem to put the ball up to him too often.
"But there was no way we deserved to lose by 20 points."
He said at a game of such intensity, quick decision-making was vital, and Canterbury had experience in those key areas.
Soakai said Otago did well at the breakdown and Joubert had worked hard in the contact area. The absence of All Black loose forward Adam Thomson was not felt as badly as many had feared.
Soakai said the side felt it was still in with a chance at half-time and when prop Keith Cameron scored a try to bring it to within six points of Canterbury, he felt Otago could score if it kept hammering away.
Otago went close with about five minutes to go, but the ball was held up over the line.
Referee Chris Pollock ruled an Otago player had run into another in front of him.
Otago coach Steve Martin said the Canterbury players had the experience to choose the right options.
"When you've got the likes of [Casey] Laulala, [Corey] Flynn and [Andy] Ellis sitting on the bench and able to come on, that really makes a huge difference.
They've got guys there who have played that big-time rugby and know what it is about," Martin said.
"We prepared well and the team was confident, even at half-time. We were definitely still in the game. But Canterbury had a lot of players who are used to the intensity of shield rugby."
Martin said the set piece was again good but Otago did not get enough chances.
"We were hammering away at the end there but maybe we should have looked to moving the ball wide. But the forwards wanted to back themselves."
He said there was a lack of kicking metres in the first half, which led to Otago not getting more territory.
It gained plenty of possession, mainly through a wonky Canterbury line-out.
Martin admitted the loss, without a bonus point, did not help Otago's chances in the Air New Zealand Cup, but there was plenty of rugby still to be played.
