LANGLEY — A casual observer watching the South Whidbey soccer team play against Port Townsend on Saturday would have thought the Falcons were winning big-time.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving.

The Redskins scored once 20 minutes into the first half on a deflected kick and held on to win 1-0.

Indeed, Falcon players managed more than

30 attempts into their opponents’ goal but came up empty every time, the ball either flying over the net, taking an errant bounce off the posts or dropping into the arms of the Redskins’ goalie. Port Townsend had fewer than 10 shot attempts, but the single score was all it took.

“Clearly, we need to work more on finishing the drive,” said Falcon mid-fielder Henry Mead. “We played well, the defense was solid; we just couldn’t close the deal.”

Falcon coach Joel Gerlach took a fatalistic approach to the defeat.

“We outshot them, but the ball wouldn’t cooperate,” he said. “Their goalie was good, and he saved the day for them.”

Gerlach plans to work harder on re-starts in practice, that moment when the ball is put in play after going out-of-bounds.

“Every re-start is an opportunity to move the ball and score,” he said.

“Our strategy is to be strong in back, transition the ball to mid-field and make the shot,” he said. “For us, mid-field is key because every action requires more work; each player must have a 360-degree mindset.”

The fact that Waterman Field is roughly 8 percent shorter in length and

10 percent less in width than a standard soccer layout had no impact on the Port Townsend game.

“A bigger venue wouldn’t have helped us,” Gerlach said.

He said that, overall, he was pleased with the way his guys played.

He noted Mead’s fierce attacks and take-no-prisoners style helped keep the Redskin defenders off-guard.

“Henry [Mead] is fast and it’s a contact sport, so sometimes things can get a little rowdy out there,” Gerlach said.

Gerlach saw nothing on the field that requires change.

“We’re sticking with the plan. We just need to make more opportunities to succeed at the net,” he said.

Forward Pat Myatt pointed out that the contest was a non-conference game.

“Maybe it was good to get the jitters out of our system,” he noted.

Mead agreed with that.

“We hated to lose, but sometimes losing, especially in an exhibition match, can be a learning experience,” he said. “We’ve visibly improved over last year, playing more as a team, and TJ [Russell] did a great job in shutting them down 99 percent of the time. And Noah Moeller kept up some serious pressure on their defense.”

South Whidbey will be on the road until the Falcons host King’s at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 1.