After a strong start to the season, the varsity soccer team faced a tough stretch over fall break, losing games to Francis Howell, Hazelwood Central and Oakville, while pulling off one victory against Hazelwood West.

The losses hurt the team.

“[It] kinda put us in a down mood. [Coach Hogan] put a lot of pressure on us to win the tournament,” said junior goalie Michael Caldwell.

The losses also showed the team improvements that needed to be made.

“It also helped us learn from our mistakes,” said Caldwell.

The string of defeats showed the team the key problems that needed to be fixed, pushing the ball down the middle of the field instead of the sides and controlling the over-dribbling of some players.

The team hopes to rebound from the losses Wednesday night as they travel to Parkway South to take on the Patriots.