The Blue Valley Northwest girls’ soccer team lost to Blue Valley West 2-3 in overtime after winning their first four games of the season.

Northwest opened the match with junior Annika Witt scoring in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. However, later in the match, West scored, leaving the game tied at halftime.

In the second half, sophomore Ella Rost scored with 4:40 remaining to give Northwest a 2-1 lead. West responded with 4:23 left in regulation to tie the game 2-2, sending the match into overtime.

With 7:06 remaining in overtime, West scored the game-winning penalty kick to secure the 3-2 win for the BVW Jaguars.

Despite the loss, junior Addie Weitzel said the team relied on their cohesive playing style to stick together throughout the game.

“We really communicated. We know it’s us against the world. That’s our favorite saying,” Weitzel said. “We are more of a team, and so close compared to all these other teams. It’s literally just pure chemistry.”

Sophomore Katerina Garrett added that the team will continue to focus on working together.

“Going into the next game, as a team, we’re going to focus on staying connected and keep on communicating like we did last game,” Garrett said.

Although Garrett said she was hoping for a win and was sad about the penalty kick, she said the game helped them prepare for a possible postseason rematch.

“This can prepare us for when we have to go and try to win State, because we’re probably gonna have to play (Blue Valley West) in Wichita,” Garrett said.

Weitzel said that going into the season, Northwest was considered the underdog by many other schools.

“Every team said they’re gonna come out and crush us,” Weitzel said. “We are probably one of the most resilient teams.”

Garrett said she hopes the girls will use the loss to motivate them moving forward.

“We’re not always gonna win, even when we try our hardest. So we just gotta keep on going out and playing our best,” Garrett said.