It was a 2-0 week for Nansemond River High School’s field hockey team, but Lady Warriors coach Ali Mowry did not see the energy and passing ability that her players exhibited in weeks prior.

NR hosted Western Branch High School on Wednesday and then played its first conference game of the season at Bethel High School on Thursday.

Lightning brought an early close to the game against the Bethel Lady Bruins, but the Lady Warriors earned a 5-0 win.

“I know we beat Western Branch, but I thought we played a better game today,” Mowry said Thursday evening, noting her team exhibited more enthusiasm on the field.

The score was 5-0 by halftime. Sophomore forward Ashlyn Rogers struck first, assisted by senior midfielder/forward Jaclyn Mounie.

Mounie scored next, assisted by junior forward Ariana Samuel. Then, senior midfielder Claire Janek scored. The ball was tapped by a Bethel player on its way to the goal, but Mowry did not consider it an own goal because she said Janek’s shot was headed in even without the tap.

Freshman forward Allison Fischer made it 4-0 with an assist from junior back Mackenzie Roach, after which Janek put in her second goal of the game, assisted by Samuel.

Nansemond River had 16 offensive penalty corners to the Bethel Lady Bruins’ zero.

Going into the game, Mowry said she had no idea what to expect from Bethel. After the contest when asked to compare the Lady Bruins to a team from the Lady Warriors’ old conference, she likened them to Denbigh High School.

While Nansemond River consistently outperformed the Peninsula teams in the Ironclad Conference, Denbigh provided the biggest challenge.

The Lady Warriors were entering Thursday’s Conference 10 matchup on the heels of a 3-1 victory over the Western Branch Lady Bruins on Wednesday.

“It was kind of a lethargic game, but a win is win, and we’ll take that,” Mowry said.

Exhibits A and B in the evidence of this sluggishness were a scoreless first half and “just a lot of missed opportunities in front of the face of the goal,” the coach noted.

In confrontations with Western Branch’s goalkeeper, “We were just hitting the ball directly into her pads instead of trying to go around her,” Mowry said.

But four minutes into the second half, senior back Cali Valdivieso broke through with a goal, assisted by Mounie on a penalty corner.

With 19:42 remaining, the Western Branch Lady Bruins tied the game 1-1.

But when they committed a foul about 10 minutes later, Janek scored on a penalty stroke.

Mounie put in the final goal with an assist from Rogers with 2:06 to go.

Nansemond River had 15 offensive penalty corners, and Western Branch had 11.

Mowry praised her defense for doing a better job of stepping to the ball, highlighting the play of Valdivieso and junior back Victoria Czuprynski.

She also noted senior goalkeeper Alex Wilde had another great game.

The Lady Warriors (5-1) host Great Bridge High School on Monday.