The girls varsity soccer team faced the reigning state champions, the Natick Redhawks, at Skyline Park on Tuesday, Sept. 20. After a strong 90 minutes of back and forth play, the Warriors left the field losing 1-0.

The Warrior’s closest opportunity for a goal in the first half of the game came within the first 20 minutes when senior Alex Levy delivered the first corner kick of the game.

The game continued for the remainder of the first half with little change. Continuing back and forth on the field with occasional unsuccessful corner kicks, Brookline was left with no goal.

Minutes before the end of the first half, Natick’s Nichole Proia shot the ball, which rebounded off the goalpost and landed in the net, marking the game’s first and only goal.

Senior and goalie Talia Thompson was unsatisfied with the missed chances for a goal throughout the game.

“I think we played well, but we couldn’t finish our opportunities,” Thompson said.

During the second half, the crowd echoed “win it back blue,” but as the Warriors failed to deliver any goals, the game quickly became a countdown for the Redhawks.

Pressure filled the air for the Warriors as they attempted to score at least one goal to tie the game. According to junior and forward Amara Ukomadu, the players did not handle this stress the most effectively.

“Overall, we did pretty well. We just need to get better about relaxing and playing smarter and looking for the simple things to do instead of trying to force things,” Ukomadu said.

Throughout the second half of the game, Ukomadu made multiple impressive efforts to score. With the ball barely missing the net a few times, these shots were still not enough for the Warriors to execute a goal.

The Redhawks came close to a second goal midway through the second half. After senior and defender Cece Wager blocked their initial shot, number 20 on the Redhawks went in for another but was blocked again, this time by defender Sydney Freese, a sophomore.

Junior and midfielder Emma Eisenhauer was disappointed by the final score.

“It was a hard game but we definitely all played as hard as we could. It’s disappointing to lose by one goal. There’s a lot that happens in a game and it’s just that one moment, but overall I think we played pretty well as a team,” Eisenhauer said.

Ukomadu said that this game was similar to their final game against Natick last season.

“They were both really close games,” Ukomadu said. “I think even in this game, I wouldn’t say they played better than us, so it shows we’re definitely a team that could compete for the state title.”