Last Thursday, the varsity girls soccer team faced off against rival Francis Howell, again in adverse conditions. Playing in the heart of a thunderstorm, the team had to adapt to the conditions that made play difficult.

“The ball would go in the air, and it would come right back to you because of how windy it was,” junior Lauren Nosal said.

The team went on the offense immediately, scoring off of a cross by senior Katie Wood to Nosal who found the back of the net for an early goal. The team held the lead going into the second half, as ominous clouds threatened to cancel the game.

“We thought the clouds were about to explode with rain, thunder and lightning,” Nosal said.

But the game marched on, with Howell scoring early off a cross for an easy tap in goal. Then lightning struck, forcing the game into a 30-minute storm delay. Immediately after the delay, Howell managed to slip the ball into the goal, securing the win.

A few days later, the team played Parkway West in the heat, this time experimenting with new formations and positions with mixed results. The team struggled throughout the game trying to adapt to these new tactics and lost 2-0.

On Monday, the team played Ursuline in the first game of the FHN/St. Dominic Tournament, where some the the top teams in the area go head-to-head and showcase their skill. The first half was a stalemate, with neither team scoring a single goal.

“The first half went really good; I felt like we were doing really good with getting back and helping out the defense,” freshman Mikayla Kennedy said.

Coming into the second half, Ursuline scored two goals in the first five minutes, which left the Spartans discouraged.

“We just sort of gave up after that,” Kennedy said.

Ursuline soon scored another goal, and from there the clock just ticked down to zero, leading to a 3-0 loss for the Spartans.

On Wednesday, the team moved on to face Cor Jesu. From the beginning, Cor Jesu dominated, landing attack after attack on the Spartans’ goal. By the end of the first half, Cor Jesu had scored five unanswered goals.

“After the fourth goal everyone kind of gave up,” senior Jazmin Garcia said.

In the second half, the Spartans came out much stronger than they had in the first half, playing more fluidly and with greater precision.

“We started connecting passes better, and we had more opportunities to score,” Garcia said.

Despite their best efforts, the Spartans couldn’t find the back of the net, leaving them once again scoreless in the second half while Cor Jesu managed to tack on two more goals onto the scoreboard ending the game 7-0.

The girls are now 5-11 in their season, are playing again today against Borgia at 3:30 p.m.