MARYSVILLE — After a rocky start to their first regular season game, the Tomahawk girls soccer team held Lake Stevens to a 60-minute draw.

Unfortunately though, the damage was already done as the Vikings went on to defeat Marysville-Pilchuck 3-0 in front of a home crowd Sept. 9.

“We just panicked and tried to get rid of the ball right away,” M-P coach Geoff Kittle said of his young team members, many of whom were making their varsity debut. “I think they were just shell-shocked by those first three goals.”

Lake Stevens senior forward Taryn Wright scored two and junior midfielder Annie Thomas scored one more before the Tomahawks regained their composure and adjusted to the fast-paced game their faced from their guests.

Late in the first quarter, Lake Stevens had numbers around the Marysville goal and appeared positioned to score a fourth goal as the Vikings drew off Tomahawk keeper Lauren Schoonover to one side and crossed the net. The attempt was blocked by junior defender Rachel Hamelin, who kicked the ball out to the corner.

Kittle credited the play as a game-changing moment for the Tommies, who seemed to play with more confidence after the save.

At forward, junior Kiely Cordon played aggressively, giving as good as she got from a physical Lake Stevens midfield and defense. She also gave the Tommies their best chance to end the shutout, closing in hard on Viking goalkeeper Kaitlin Mackenzie. In her first year on the team, sophomore Kiley Thomason also held her own in the midfield, an area her coach credited as solid in their first outing.

“Now that the jitters are out, I think they will do a lot better,” Kittle said.