Defense was apparently not one of the strong suits that came back to the field for the Falcon boys soccer team after last week’s spring break.

On Monday, the Falcons lost 5-2 to the Meridian Trojans, a team that just one game behind the Falcons in the North Cascades Conference standings going into the week. The letdown comes after the team picked up two wins the previous week in spite of having 10 varsity players missing due to various vacation plans.

Mark Helpenstell, the team’s head coach, did not mince words in talking about the loss. Though he said he was impressed with the Falcons’ play in the first 20 minutes of the game and the last 20 minutes, he said team defense was for the most part “sloppy.”

“It’s something we’re going to work on in practice today,” he said Monday morning.

The loss, which comes at the exact midpoint of the season, was the Falcons’ worst since losing to North Cascades Conference leader Sultan 4-0 on March 20.

South Whidbey’s collapse took place primarily in the second half. Through the first 40 minutes of play, the Falcons were wholly in the game, going into halftime with a 2-2 tie. Putting up goals for South Whidbey were junior Connor Adams with an assist from senior Spencer Buckman, and sophomore John Gerlach. Gerlach headed his goal into the net off a Josh Helpenstell pass, tying the game late in the first half.

In goal for South Whidbey was sophomore Devin Thompson. He now has a 2.6 goals-against average on the season.

The Falcons are now 4-4 overall.