ABOVE: Fairmont midfielder Abbie Simpson looks to create offense during the first half of Monday afternoon's contests against La Crescent-Hokah.

FAIRMONT – This past Thursday, Fairmont Area girls soccer head coach Matt Nielsen said he wanted to see the reaction his team would make when faced with adversity.

That’s what was on the mind of Nielsen when heading into the season opener Monday afternoon against La Crescent-Hokah.

For better or for worse, Nielsen and his Cardinals found themselves in a challenging situation after trailing 3-0 in the first 15 minutes of the contest.

“I thought our response was we got a little chaotic,” Nielsen said. “We stopped making simple passes and started opting for going one-on-one or doing some trending passes. We were trending towards sides or certain players, and we kind of got out of our overall mold.”

La Crescent-Hokah continued its aggressive attack throughout the remaining first half and finished the game with a 7-0 win in a nonconference soccer game.

After 15 minutes of solid defense from the Cardinals, a penalty kick was drawn by the Lancers deep into Fairmont’s net.

La Crescent-Hokah sent freshman Kiera Timm up to attempt the shot, who capitalized on the opportunity after rining the ball on the left side of the net to add to the lead.

Timm scored another goal with a shot passing through Fairmont goalkeeper Addison Folkerts’ fingertips at the two-minute mark, swelling the lead to five as the first half horn rang.

With a 5-0 deficit at their doorstep, Nielsen and his coaching staff chose to assign different players different tasks to achieve in the second half. Whether it was making cleaner passes or holding a stronger defensive line, Nielsen wanted to see how his team could answer.

The team responded well.

Helping each other on defense, staying aggressive at the forward position, and, overall, playing with more attitude, the Cardinals looked like a different team from before.

“I talked to players in groups and put out some challenges for their groups,” Nielsen said. “I thought they executed it well.”

“In the second half, we were a completely different team from what we were for the second 35 minutes of the first half,” Nielsen said.

However, even with the change in play, the Lancers still managed to draw up some offense late in the half.

Freshman Anna Wood tacked on a goal with 22 minutes left of play.

Timm put the finishing touches with yet another goal at the 10-minute mark. The forward finished the afternoon with five goals and two assists, contributing to every point on La Crescent-Hokah’s scoresheet.

The Cardinals ended the contest with nine shots on goal compared to the Lancers’ 19. Folkerts finished the afternoon with 12 saves in her first start of the season.

Despite the loss, Nielsen remained positive with not only the current state of the Cardinals, but also what he sees for the rest of the season.

“I divide my season into four segments of four games each and said, ‘Hey, in the first segment we are figuring out who we are,'” Nielsen said. “Overall, I can see the future, I can see what we can do, it’s just a matter of implementing,” Nielsen said. “I think we have the bones; we just have to put them together.”

Fairmont continues its season on Tuesday as they travel to face New Ulm. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m.