After giving up four goals in the first half, the Lady Warriors couldn’t build up enough momentum to overcome the Sullivan Central Lady Cougars.

A second-half goal from the Lady Cougars’ Abbie Russell helped Sullivan Central top Happy Valley 5-0 Thursday at Happy Valley Elementary.

“Nobody wants to lose a match,” Lady Warriors head coach Eddie Morrell said. “We came out and we were flat. As we have seen in the past, when we come out flat, we have a hard time coming back. I was encouraged that we only gave up one goal in the second half. The four that we gave up in the first is stuff that we shouldn’t have given up. We didn’t play to our potential tonight.”

Sullivan Central got on the board early as Lady Cougar Gracie Carroll knocked in a goal off a rebound to give her team an early 1-0 lead four minutes into the contest.

Twelve minutes after Carroll fired in her goal, her teammate Kelsey White kicked one in off an assist from Lexi Hill at the 14-minute mark. Shortly after, White nailed another shot off a corner kick, giving Sullivan Central a 3-0 edge.

The final goal of the first half came in extra time as Hill found Happy Valley goalkeeper Bailey Hall out of position to give the Lady Cougars a 4-0 lead heading into the half.

Hall guarded the goal for Happy Valley in the first half before Lillie Runningcrane took over in the second period. Runningcrane and Hall were in for Carley Tribble, who was out due to a red card she received during Happy Valley’s draw with Unicoi.

“They were both soldiers,” Morrell said about Runningcrane and Hall “They both went after the ball. It was unfortunate for Bailey. She got shot at a lot.”

In the second half, the Lady Warriors started to pick up some steam as they pushed the ball into the Lady Cougars’ territory. Both Happy Valley’s Carrisa Bailey and Bayley McGee were able to fire off some shots in the second period, but none hit the mark.

“We had several opportunities,” Morrell said. “ Most of them came from Carrisa and Bayley McGee. We have to take advantage of our opportunities earlier.”

Lady Cougars coach Tasha McDaniel said that her team played a little slower than normal Thursday night, but said a win is a win.

“It is always good to get a good win in,” said McDaniel. “I know this is a newer program for Happy Valley. We saw them a couple years ago and they have improved. I am really proud of them. The played a really good game. I am really happy to see soccer growing in this area.”

The Lady Warriors will face off with Elizabethton at 5:30 p.m. for a makeup game.