Without having all of their regular players, the Nansemond River High School soccer team lost to Princess Anne High School 3-1 in the regional tournament on Tuesday evening at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

The Lady Warriors were without four of their starters and the impact was felt deeply across the field.

“I told the team, here’s the first lesson in life, things come up and there’s nothing you can do about it and the show still has to go on,” coach Kurt Straub said.

Nansemond River got off to a slow start, allowing Princess Anne to score two goals early.

“They scored two quick goals on us in the first 10 minutes of the game,” Straub said. “We had to play comeback after that.”

All of the girls played well but were unable to overcome the missing part of the team. Kamarie Jewette scored the Lady Warriors’ only goal.

Straub believes the girls did well controlling more of the tempo after making the necessary adjustments in the second half of the game.

“We had opportunities to score, we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net,” said Straub.

Straub wasn’t upset with how his girls played, but he knew the game would have had a different tone had all of his players been there.

“I think if we would’ve had a healthy team, the outcome would have been different, I strongly believe that,” said Straub. “I was missing two defenders and two midfielders.”

The substitutes had some preparation for the match, but playing for the whole game was a unique experience for them, Straub knew they could handle it and felt like they did a good job under pressure.

“I don’t think they were nervous,” he said. “It was just that the first few minutes were rocky and they got some cheap points off of us.”

Looking back on how the season unfolded, ultimately Straub felt that the girls were successful.

“14-4-1 is the best in school history, I believe.”