Losing 4-1 at halftime, the girls varsity soccer team looked dead in the water against the Washington International School, but a valiant second half effort fell just short in a 4-3 loss to their arch-rivals.

The girls went down early after two goals from WIS in the opening minutes, but showed some hope with a goal from eighth-grader Ally Knapp midway through the first half. Knapp fired a shot from just inside the 18-yard box that went off the goalie and into the net for the first goal for the Lions.

Other than that, the team had very few opportunities in the first half, except from a shot from senior Evie Kraner that ricocheted off the crossbar. The girls conceded two more goals later in the first half, which put them in what seemed to be an insurmountable hole.

“At halftime, there was a general feeling that we could be playing better than we were and we weren’t putting our 100 percent effort into it,” Kraner said.

The game was a tale of two halves. The girls came out firing in the second half creating lots of chances which ultimately led to a goal by sophomore Dani Bernstein.

The lions kept up the pressure and three minutes later sophomore Dalia Handelman cut WIS’s lead to one goal, with a strike from inside the six yard box. Handelman’s goal put the lions within reach with just 15 minutes remaining.

The lion’s threatened in the final minutes but were unable to score. A questionable off-sides call, and a non-call on a breakaway from Bernstein killed the lion’s two best scoring opportunities.

The girls eliminated WIS in a hard fought semi-final playoff game last year on the way to the championship, and Kraner speculates that this loss made WIS come out with even more firepower this year.

And despite the crushing loss, Kraner is optimistic.

“We’re ready to face them later in the season and we know that we have a fighting chance,” Kraner said.