South Whidbey High School lost to Mount Baker High School 3-1 on Saturday.

The game was scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. at South Whidbey High School but was relocated to Mount Baker.

Head coach Paul Arand called the loss a progressive performance.

“It was a good learning tool for us,” Arand said.

Falcon Jessica Manca scored the lone goal on a corner kick from Brianna Haines in the 60th minute.

The location change possibly led to some players missing the match due to scheduling conflicts, according to Arand. Makenzie Peterson, a junior, did not play because she is recovering from a tear to her ACL and surgery over summer. She is expected to return this season.

Falcon players shifted positions due to missing personnel. Even so, Arand pointed out strong performances from Maia Sparkman, Cortney Fredriksen, Amanda Lutsock, Brianna Haines and goalie Lindsey Grimm.

Mount Baker defeated Lynden 3-0 and lost to Ferndale 3-2 prior to the match with South Whidbey.

Arand said he was aware of Mount Baker’s offense and knew it would be a challenge for the Falcons. He noted the organized positions and better possessions in the second half as evidence of the sharp learning curve for his team.

The defense came together and allowed only one goal in the second half, which Arand called, “the only quality goal.”

“The first goal was a series of mistakes on our part,” Arand said.

Moving forward, Arand wants to work on two areas of improvement with the team: conditioning and possessing the ball. He said the team only had three or four connections per possession and wants to see nine or 10 connections.

South Whidbey opened conference play at home on Tuesday against Granite Falls.