Each of the past three contests have possessed an eery similarity for the Warrenton soccer team. The Warriors have sputtered out to a sluggish start, ultimately unable to climb out of a deficit. Unfortunately, each of those defeats have all been pivotal GAC games. “We’ve gotten into the bad habit of coming out slow and letting the other team attack,” said Coach David Evans. “We’re not putting passes together early, and we’re falling behind.” It happened again on Monday, as the Warriors dropped a 3-1 decision at Orchard Farm. Tyler Gregory provided Warrenton’s only goal, powering her way around the net for a short-range goal early in the second half. By that time, the Warriors were already facing a 3-0 deficit. “They put pressure on our goal,” said Evans. “They’ve got a couple of girls who do a good job of getting shots. Our goalie did a nice job of making stops, but after a while it’s hard to stop them completely.” More accustomed to their rough grass surface, the Eagles were able to make better touches and distribute the ball more accurately. Evans says his team struggled at times, not reading distances well. “They had an advantage on the grass surface, and you could tell we weren’t used to that type of surface,” said Evans. “We had some missed kicks and touches, but we also don’t want to cast blame. We’ve got to be able to adapt to that.” He acknowledges his team played much better in the final 40 minutes, matching its opponent on-field performance despite being unable to generate goals. “The girls came out playing much better in that second half,” said Evans. “We had a lot more intensity.” Senior Emily Craven had around half of the Warriors’ 10 looks at the goal, taking several shots from around 30 yards out. “We weren’t able to put any of those in, and we’ve got to do a better job of timing,” said Evans. “It’s not really something we’ve worked on during practice yet.” Thankfully, Evans says, Warrenton will get another shot at Orchard Farm, this time on the turf. “If we can get out to a quicker start, it’ll be a totally different ballgame for us,” said Evans. “We should be fine.” He continues to be satisfied with the job done by goalkeeper Kalee Kelly. “She’s been reliable for us,” said Evans. “We’ve just got to focus on keeping the ball out of our end, and against Orchard Farm, they had the ball on our end for too long.”

The Warrenton soccer team has been hindered by recent slow starts, losing three straight conference games.

Bill Barrett Photo.