On Monday, the girls soccer team faced off against Holt at home, and, despite a strong showing in the first half, the team ended losing 1-2. The girls dominated the first half, locking down possession of the ball and keeping the ball away from their own side of the field. Senior Katie Wood struck first with an early goal, and the team exited the first half with a 1-0 lead. But this changed in the second half, as Holt came out playing much stronger than they had in the first.

“They seemed to have realized that they were down a goal and realized that they wanted to win,” junior Caitlyn Eddy said.

Holt managed to score in the middle of the second half, taking advantage of an opportunity from a previous shot on goal that had left sophomore Sydney Chalcraft on the ground. Tied 1-1, the teams battled it out until the last 30 seconds, when Holt was given a free kick due to a penalty that slipped past Chalcraft, locking in the lead for Holt.

The next day, the team played again at home, this time against a winless Troy Buchanan. The Spartans came out slow, lacking their usual intensity.

“We weren’t focused or ready to play. We just weren’t there right off the bat,” Chalcraft said.

Troy, on the other hand, came out hungry for a win and scored early in the first half by countering a throw-in by the Spartans. For the rest of the half, Troy maintained most of the possession while the Spartans fought to fend off attacks on their own half of the field.

In the second half, the Spartans came out stronger, but it was not enough to overcome Troy’s momentum. Troy scored again off of a free kick and ran down the clock, leading to another loss for the Spartans.

The Spartans will play again today at Francis Howell North at 6 p.m.