The Nansemond River High School girls’ soccer team ended up being the Region 4A South runner-up on Friday at Midlothian High School, but the Lady Warriors still made an impressive statement.

Last year, the gap on the scoreboard was wide between the Lady Trojans and Nansemond River in the regional semifinals — 9-0. But this year, the Lady Warriors were very much in the game before ultimately falling 3-1.

“They played with heart,” NR coach Kurt Straub said. “We scored first, 2-1 at halftime, give up one in the second half—that’s not a bad game. They played hard against a really, really good team.”

Midlothian seemed struck by the contrast from 2014, Straub said.

“Their coach even says it’s a completely different team than last year.”

Nansemond River fielded largely the same group of girls but with another year of experience benefiting them.

“They’re a good team,” Straub said, giving the Lady Trojans their due. “They had a lot of possession in the first half. We were trying to adjust to it, figure out exactly what they’re going to do.”

It was the Lady Warriors, however, that put Midlothian on its heels when freshman Kaylah Simmons crossed the ball and junior Jen Herrera headed it into the Lady Trojans’ goal about 10 minutes into the game.

“They had a little bit of intensity right after that,” Straub said of the Trojans. “You can definitely tell the difference.”

They scored about 10 minutes later and got another goal about 10 minutes after that.

Though the first half included Nansemond River’s goal, Straub was particularly pleased with how his players improved their performances in the second half.

Similar to the regional semifinal against Tabb High School, he wanted his girls to avoid letting their opponents wear them down by playing keep away with a myriad of passes.

“The first half, we decided to chase,” Straub said. “We chased in the first half instead of letting them play with it.”

But the Lady Warriors did better in the second half, conserving their energy.

Straub also made some changes to help limit the Lady Trojans’ two players in the middle that were proving to be particularly adept with the ball after receiving drop passes from their team’s forward players.

“They would control it, and then send somebody on the outside every time,” he said of the duo.

Midlothian scored its third goal with 21 minutes remaining in the game, but Straub saw it as more of an error by his defense, failing to mark the scorer, than an example of his team being outplayed.

Frustration over the way the game was being officiated was obvious from the Nansemond River sideline to the stands. One individual was ejected from the game for comments made.

“I’ve never seen a ref let so much pushing in the back go in my life,” Straub said. “We’re not used to that.”

Nevertheless, Nansemond River’s coaches and players avoided getting any yellow or red cards, and Straub was pleased with all of his players’ performances.

“Everybody played with heart tonight,” he said.

Herrera had been out for over a month due to a knee injury before returning for limited minutes on Wednesday against Tabb.

“She played a lot of minutes tonight,” Straub said, and Nansemond River benefited from it.

The Lady Warriors were awash with disappointment after the game as they received their runner-up trophy, but Straub focused on the bright side.

“If you look at it, what other soccer team in Suffolk has brought home two trophies in one season? No one,” he said. “So, I’m proud of them.”

Having already qualified for the Virginia High School League Group 4A state tournament, the Lady Warriors (13-6-1) will play in the state semifinals on Friday at noon at Amherst County High School.

Should Nansemond River win, it could see Midlothian again in the state championship.

“I would not doubt it,” Straub said.