For the second straight game, the Liberty Patriots boys soccer team has been plagued by a slow start in the opening half. On March 20 against Juanita, the Patriots struggled to get out of the gate and allowed their opponent to take advantage of them being on their heels — and that was all it took for the Ravens to knock off Liberty.

“We just gotta clean up the little things,” Manager Darren Tremblay said. “It’s taking too long to get things clicking.”

Midway through the fist half, Juanita scored the one and only goal of the game thanks to Jan Pawluskiewicz, who was left wide open in front of the goal.

“They were throwing a ton of players forward. With all the numbers they were playing forward, we were struggling to get out of the back,” Tremblay said.

It was the sum of multiple chances that the Ravens produced in the first half. Heading to the locker room, the Patriots were lucky to be trailing by just a single goal.

A couple of bright spots in the first half were goalkeeper Tyler Rubenstein making a pair of saves and Ethan Lust. The freshman started the game on the wing, before being dropped back to his natural position at right back. It was clear Lust could hold his own against a team with nine seniors on the roster.

“He’s good up at the wing. But that’s his position (right back), he’s more comfortable there. But we like him at the wing. With his speed, he anticipates very well,” Tremblay said.

Whatever team went into halftime was not the same team that came out for Liberty.

There was a jolt of energy seemingly through every player in blue on a rainy Thursday night. There were countless opportunities, and Liberty really controlled the game as the majority of the second half was played on the Juanita side.

Part of this season is acclimating a young group to the challenge of KingCo soccer. The Patriots graduated 13 players from a season ago.

“We are a young and inexperienced group for the most part. There is going to be a learning curve, and I think we are making progress,” Tremblay said.

Tremblay tried everything with senior Kensei Sugitani. He originally had his senior on the left side in the second half, before moving him to the right side and eventually the middle of the pitch. Tremblay and Sugitani just could not find the ride combination to crack the code of the Juanita low-block.

Someone who was finding Sugitani and took some shots on goal himself was senior Daniel Jugurt. He found his time and space just outside the 18-yard box, but could not find the back of the net.

“He had a tough first half, but was himself in the second half and that helped a ton,” Tremblay said.

Liberty’s schedule doesn’t get any easier either. They take on Hazen on March 25 at Renton Memorial Stadium. For reference, Hazen beat Juanita 6-0. To prepare for those tougher teams, Liberty has to start better and Tremblay knows it. He’s considering switching up pretty much anything to get his team ready.

“Maybe we change our warmups because maybe we are lulling to sleep in our warmups. I wish I had an answer,” Tremblay said.

Senior Kensei Sugitani avoids a Juanita defender. Ben Ray / The Reporter