BROOKINGS Brookings controlled most of the second half, but came up short as the Bobcats fell 2-1 in a girls soccer match against Tea Area on Tuesday night at Fishback Soccer Park.
Tea scored two goals in the first half and held a 4-0 shots advantage at halftime. The first goal of the game came in the ninth minute and then the Titans doubled their lead in the 18th minute.
Brookings head coach Adam Juba said he talked to his players at halftime about how they wanted to play in the second half and he thought his team did a good job of executing that.
At halftime we talked about how the biggest thing is we have to go out there and want it and we have to help our teammates out when we dont have the ball. We werent moving off the ball to put ourselves in the spaces to receive it. As the second half went on, we started to find our passing and we started to find our possession game, Juba said.
Grace Romsa got a breakaway chance in the 63rd minute and did not squander the opportunity. She shot the ball past the goalkeeper on the left side and cut the Titans lead in half. Aubrey Giard had the assist on the Bobcats lone goal.
The Bobcats had a few more chances down the stretch but were unable to tie things up. This was the second straight game where Juba thought his team came out a little slow in the first half but then put together a solid second half as the Bobcats played to a 1-1 draw with Spearfish on Saturday.
Juba said he and his team captains are going to have to figure out how to put together a complete game on Saturday when they host Aberdeen at 2 p.m.
Im going to lean on our captains and ask them, hey, what do you think we need to do to come out and put two halves of soccer like that together. Because if we can put two halves of soccer like that together, were great. Its hard when you play half of the game really well and the other half not so good and try to come out with the win, Juba said.
Despite starting the season 0-1-1, Juba said hes liked the way his team has responded to commands during the matches.
Ive liked how weve been able to adjust and how knowledgeable our players are. I can tell them very specific things that I want them to do and theyre able to carry those things out. I think thats a huge asset for us now and going forward, Juba said.
There was a heavy downpour in the lead up to Tuesdays match and the rain continued to fall steadily during the match. Juba said the weather was somewhat of a factor but didnt want to put any of the loss onto the rain.
[The weather] always [plays a factor] when you have wet and rainy stuff like this and the ball skips around. Its a little unpredictable, but you do the best you can in warmups to try to have [the players] get as many touches on the ball and get a feel for it. You just have to play. I dont think it was a huge factor, but obviously plays into it a little bit, Juba said.
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