Young teams often experience some growing pains from high school to the professional ranks. For Decatur’s girls soccer team on Saturday, they were not too visible in their 2-0 win over Spanaway Lake.

Sophomores account for much of the team’s roster as they fill eight of the 18 spots. There are two freshmen on the team as well.

It seemed as though early season jitters and youth might play a factor early in the game. Sophomore goalkeeper Madison Combs picked up a ball that was played back to her by her teammates within the first few minutes. The Sentinels were awarded an indirect free kick inside the penalty area.

Payton Miller put the ball in the back of the net for the Spanaway Lake, but because another player did not touch it prior to it entering the goal, it did not count. The Gators were instead awarded a goal kick.

From there, Decatur kept the pressure on for much of the first half. Most of the play took place in Spanaway Lake’s defensive zone.

Freshman midfielder/forward Jessica Karmell scored the first goal of the season for the Gators in the 11th minute of the game. The ball bounced her way after a throw-in and she beat the keeper with a ball placed neatly into the bottom right corner of the goal.

It took a while for either team to create good looks after Karmell’s goal. Whenever it looked like the Gators would have a shot on a breakaway opportunity, Spanaway Lake’s sophomore goalkeeper Dioni Roberson was able to put an end to it.

The second half saw Spanaway Lake with more possession and Decatur taking shots from long distance.

“We need to work on possession, closing down space a little quicker,” Decatur head coach Jim Hager said. “We need to combine a little more in the final third to get some better shots off. A few too many shots were outside the box that were going astray.”

Decatur did capitalize on a corner kick in the 64th minute of the game. Senior forward Emily Shires found junior midfielder Amanda Rickey for their second goal of the game.

They nearly had a third goal when sophomore midfielder Hannah Shires tripped and fell onto the ball, but quickly recovered and found sophomore forward Yesinia Cornejo streaking past the defenders. Cornejo lost possession just inside the penalty area.

Spanaway Lake pressured Decatur late in the game, but their efforts resulted in no goals. Combs earned the clean sheet with the help of solid defensive play by the Gators back line.

“[Combs] came in last season as keeper as a freshman,” Hager said. “This is her first year starting. To get her off on the right foot is really good. We had a few mistakes at the beginning, but it was really good.”

Hager was also happy with the minutes his starters played and having both goals on the team scored by someone other than the team’s star player.

“We’re still a young team,” Hager said. “It was good to see them play the full 80. They played aggressive throughout the whole match.”

Decatur defeated Lincoln 12-0 in their second game of the season and will begin league play against Federal Way on Thursday.