Lydia Larson provided an unexpected early jolt for the Bayfield High School girls soccer team Thursday at Pagosa Springs.
The Wolverines’ central defender scored her first goal of the season with some generous help from a blustery day.
The ball bounced back to her near the half-field line, and Larson took the shot.
Wind helped carry it, and the ball bounced over Pirates’ goalie Sara Chronowski’s head to put BHS up 1-0.
“That’s something we’re trying to get her to do back there,” BHS head coach Jen Zelinski said. “We definitely want her to do more of it.”
The goal didn’t hold up, though, as Pagosa Springs scored the next two goals to send the Wolverines to their second consecutive 2-1 defeat.
“We just did not play the way we know how to play,” Zelinski said. “We scored first, and then we kind of sat back and watched Pagosa play soccer.”
BHS (2-2, 2-2 3A Region 5) hadn’t played since a 2-1 home loss to Alamosa on March 17.
The Wolverines had their spring break in between then and Thursday, but Zelinski wouldn’t blame the loss on rust.
“(The spring break delay) had something to do with it, but I’m not one to make excuses,” she said. “I don’t think we showed up to play (Thursday).”
Larson’s goal made her the sixth Wolverine to find the back of the net this year.
Junior Maddy Duran leads the team with three goals in four games, while senior Andrea Zelinski has scored twice.
The loss keeps BHS in second place in 3A Region 5, but Pagosa Springs (3-1-1, 1-1-1 Region 5) picked up its first league win of the year.
BHS sits at .500 on the season and in the league season, trailing the undefeated Mean Moose by two full games.
Alamosa (5-0, 4-0 3A Region 5) is the defending league champion.
The Wolverines still are alive in the league title race but will need some help to claim it.
They play at Alamosa on April 16 but only can inflict one loss on the Mean Moose and would need tiebreaker help as well.
Their next game is a 4 p.m. Thursday contest at Center.
The Vikings are 2-3 this season and beat Rye 2-0 in their most recent game Monday.
“We need to learn from our mistakes, and we need to have fun,” coach Zelinski said of BHS moving forward.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
