It will take longer for the Mexico girls to come together.

Mexico at Jefferson City Photo Gallery

The Lady Bulldogs lost their season opener 6-0 on Friday at Jefferson City on a chilly night. They were the first opponent the Lady Jays hosted on a new soccer field on Jefferson City High School’s campus.

Sarah Olson is the new head coach for Mexico this season after being promoted from her assistant position. She said Jefferson City definitely played better as a team than the Lady Bulldogs, who might have been experiencing some opening day jitters.

“Playing away on a brand-new field, I think that was definitely a challenge in the cold,” Olson said. “They came out not scared as a unit, and we were a little more timid. We didn’t come out quite as strong.”

Six minutes deep into the game, Jefferson City took a 1-0 lead and then 2-0 halfway through the first half after one of the Lady Jays had a goal waved off only for her to score seconds later.

The Mexico offense stayed quiet throughout the game as the Lady Bulldogs sent one shot toward goal and had many of their possessions around midfield thwarted. 

“We had a lot of trouble in the middle of the field,” Olson said. “It was crowded, but it wasn’t productive. They were passing around us. We had too many people going to ball as we needed to space out a little more. That caused us to get stuck in our defensive half and not be able to progress offensively.”

Meanwhile, Jefferson City didn’t have any offensive issues in the second half as senior goalkeeper Tessa Haefling was busier in the latter 20 minutes. She made four saves in the first half prior to turning away eight shots in the second half.

The Lady Jays scored their third goal after Haefling made a save but wasn’t able to recover enough to stop the immediate rebound shot in the 47th minute. The lead eventually increased to 6-0 after a long-range boot and a breakaway goal.

Olson said Jefferson City worked well together in how it defended and transitioned to offense while the Lady Bulldogs are a work in progress following the first game of the season.

“When we have our defense up like we should be, they’re able to step and put the ball back in, which is what their defense was doing,” Olson said. “Not just because of our defense, but we weren’t moving up as a team. It was part of us, it wasn’t all of us — part of it because we were kicking the ball and not possessing.”

While Mexico will need some girls to emerge on the offensive end, Olson said the team had defensive stars in what was a cold night in more ways than one. She said outside backs sophomore Addison Paden and senior Lexie Willer were in the “right place at the right time.”

“They really turned it to the outside,” Olson said. “They were able to step in and take the ball off people’s feet at times. They just really helped us out there.”

Mexico plays another road contest at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Westphalia against Fatima before its home opener at 5 p.m. Thursday against Warrenton.

The Lady Bulldogs also learned Friday that they are in Class 2 District 3 with Christian, Duchesne, North Central Missouri Conference rival Fulton, Orchard Farm, St. Charles West, Winfield and Wright City.