Timing can mean everything in sports, both in specific moments during a game and in specific stretches during a season. The Nansemond River High School girls’ soccer team is demonstrating great timing in both regards.

The Lady Warriors scored a goal in the final minutes against visiting Gloucester High School earlier this week to win 3-2 and cap off a two-game week that put them two wins over .500 for the season.

Nansemond River will move up to the Virginia High School League Group 5A classification in the 2015-16 school year, and the Lady Warriors will be in Conference 10 with Gloucester.

“I wanted to play them to see what they’re like,” new NR coach Kurt Straub said. “They were very physical.”

He noted that this physicality is something his players had to adjust to, but they did so early in the first half.

The Lady Dukes accidentally hurt their cause with an own goal in the first 15 minutes of play. But they later evened the score on a penalty kick after a Nansemond River defender was called for pulling a girl down near the Lady Warriors’ goal.

NR sophomore forward Daijah Norris put her team back up with a goal a little over 10 minutes into the second half.

With about three minutes remaining in the game, Gloucester was able to tie things up on another penalty kick after the official called the Lady Warriors for a push near their goal.

But Norris made overtime unnecessary with a quick goal to give her team the win.

“Daijah stepped her game up,” Straub said.

He said she has been going through a bit of a scoring drought, but this week made clear the drought was over. She also scored two goals in Monday’s 5-0 home win against Lakeland High School.

Nansemond River’s offense has shown improvement lately. While it generated 10 goals over five games before spring break, it has produced 13 in the five games since then.

“We changed our formation a little bit and our style of play,” Straub said.

Helping create the goal-scoring opportunities are sophomore offensive center midfielder Kamarie Jewette and junior defensive center midfielder Claire Janek.

Near their own goal, the Lady Warriors are getting healthy again.

“The defense as a whole is playing a lot better with Kendall (Webster) coming back,” Straub said, adding that she had been out for almost three weeks with a shoulder injury.

Sophomore defender Victoria Czuprynski being back from a concussion has also helped shore things up.

Having sophomore stopper Starr Robinson back from a nagging quadriceps injury will be particularly important.

“She pretty much holds my defense together,” Straub said.

Nansemond River is 6-4 overall and 1-1 in the Ironclad Conference, looking to reach the regional tournament for the second straight year and repeat as conference tournament champions.

They are pressing on this season without recent graduates like forward Emily Leverone, midfielder Dawn Wright and defenders Cassidy Feldt and Karin Kleps. Junior forward Alina Rivera is out this season after having torn her anterior cruciate ligament.

The Lady Warriors also have had a major change at the top, with longtime coach Darryl Yandle stepping down and handing the baton to Straub, who has coached the girls’ junior varsity team for nine years.

Though there have been changes, the expectations remain high.

“We’ll be in the conference championship,” Straub said, and he expects rival King’s Fork High School will be there waiting.

The Lady Bulldogs got their first win in school history against Nansemond River earlier this season, but Straub is confident his team will play them significantly better in a rematch.

Nansemond River hosts Denbigh High School on Tuesday.