Tessa Haefling had a spectacular game in goal for the Bulldogs on Friday night.

Conceding all goals in a lopsided 8-0 season opening loss is not something that generally sits well with a coach. But the line score certainly doesn’t reflect how Mexico’s sophomore goalkeeper withstood attack after attack by visiting Father Tolton.

“She was impressive tonight,” said Bulldogs head coach Haley Schafer.

The young and mostly inexperienced Mexico squad were on their back heels from the opening whistle against the deep and veteran Trailblazers’ roster. Schafer packed the midfield, deploying a 4-5-1 formation hoping to crowd out Father Tolton’s strikers.

And for a time it worked. Mexico midfielder Ruby Haefling kept pace with Devin Shouman into the box and blocked her shot. But the Bulldogs’ struggled to counterattack. And time was not Mexico’s friend.

Nor was the anxiety a young team brings to the first game of a new year.

“We needed to work together, to communicate,” said Ruby Haefling. “I needed to stay back, to listen to the coach.”

Throughout the first half, Mexico appeared uncertain. Clearances fell to contending midfielders, linking passes went awry. As a result, Father Tolton was gifted opportunities.

Before the first Trailblazer’s goal, a cross from Samantha Poehlmann that found striker Macie Parmer open in front of the net at the 30:36 mark in the first, Tessa Haefling had already recorded three saves.

Down 2-0 with 25 minutes to go before the break, the Bulldogs’ keeper remained resolute.

She denied Father Tolton’s Rachael Broniec twice – deflecting the first blast and then trapping the second when the rebound fell at the Trailblazers midfielder’s feet. She beat Aubrey Willmeth face to face and punched away a strike by Adelaide Devine.

Early in the second half Haefling charged out of the six yard box to take on Tolton’s Lainey Maddix, again winning the battle. She recorded 12 saves on the night.

But then, however, the Bulldogs were down 5-0.

Mexico went on the offensive only twice in the first half. Lizzie Joiner and Paige Myers teamed up to trouble visiting midfielders first. Estrella Lopez pushed the ball forward next. But nothing came of these efforts.

In the second half, however, Shelby Kennemore and Miriam Gleeson started trouble from the wings on several occasions.

“It’s our first game,” Tessa Haefling noted. “We learned a lot from the first half.”

The Bulldogs’ roster includes a number of young players – nine freshmen and four sophomores – many of whom have never played the game before. And soccer is fluid, requiring instinct on and away from the ball.

Yet the team’s improvement from one half to another was evident.

“There were some positives,” Schafer observed. “They were starting to see the pieces around them connecting.”