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By Levi Zimmerman
After winning the season-opener over River Valley last Tuesday in a 1-0 decision, the Dodgeville/Mineral Point girls soccer team was handed its first loss Thursday in a 1-0 defeat by conference opponent Platteville/Lancaster.
Platteville/Lancaster hosted Dodgeville/Mineral Point in a Southwest Wisconsin Conference matchup on an excellent day for spring soccer.
Dodgeville/Mineral Point was short-handed for their first away game, which resulted in the team feeling quite uncomfortable.
Players struggled to settle into roles and gain confidence, which led to miscuses on both ends of the field.
Dodgeville/Mineral Point spent most of the game defending, as they had just two shots on goal.
But Platteville/Lancaster also struggled offensively, which provided for a more level playing field.
Ultimately, Platteville/Lancaster managed to sneak one goal into the back of the net, and they shut out Dodgeville/Mineral Point through the rest of the game.
"It was a tough day for us, as we were missing key players and simply couldn't settle into the game," Dodgeville/Mineral Point head coach Christian Flores stated.
"Every player struggled to find their stride, and it cost us a game that was winable," he said.
In total, Dodgeville/Mineral Point had two shots on goal Thursday.
The co-op had one corner kick on the day.
Defensively, Dodgeville/Mineral Point goalkeeper Kristina Vinger led in saves with eight.
Ella Wilson added five saves.
With the loss, Dodgeville/Mineral Point fell to 1-1 on the year.