The Warrenton Warriors were unable to hold a late lead in their one-goal loss to North Point last week. 

Warrenton (7-5, 3-4 GAC North) fell to North Point 3-2 in the second matchup between the two GAC North schools. North Point beat Warrenton 4-1 earlier this season. 

Warrenton led for over 55 minutes of the game and only trailed the final 5:34 of the second half. The Warriors struck first just over eight minutes into the first half. Senior Bryan Guerrero scored off of Isaac Wagner’s shot attempt to give Warrenton the early 1-0 lead. The Warriors took the 1-0 lead into halftime, just like they did in the first matchup with North Point. 

“We were doing really good,” Warrenton head coach John Schulte said. “We’re passing the ball and moving like we want to. We had a couple of other chances we just didn’t finish on. We were kind of in the same boat we were last time with them…We knew it was going to be a fight. We knew they were going to come out and be real strong.” 

Warrenton’s lead was short lived in the second half, as North Point scored 15 seconds into the second half to tie the game. Less than eight minutes later, Nolan Donovan scored to give Warrenton a 2-1 lead. 

“Unfortunately, they get a lucky bounce right off the start, you know, score to tie it up,” Schulte said. “You know, then we come back and we get the goal. So we’re feeling pretty good and we know they’re going to come at us  because they’re not the kind to just lay down. So they came at us real hard.”

Warrenton held the lead until there was just over eight minutes left in the second half, when North Point’s Landon Waller scored for the Grizzlies to tie the game. The Grizzlies scored again less than three minutes later. North Point’s Dylan Richards scored the game-winning goal with 5:34 remaining in the game. 

“The last goal, the guy just has a great effort” Schulte said. “He gets the ball in the middle, we’re standing, he turns and just hits a great ball. There’s not much you can do about that. He’s a great player. He placed it perfectly in the corner. There’s not much you can do on that.” 

Schulte harped on the positives Warrenton can take from the 3-2 loss to North Point. He stressed they were winning for a large chunk of the game. 

“We’re proud about how we played,” Schulte said. “I know that we’re a little upset with it now because we didn’t finish strong like we wanted to. But the kids got to realize how great they did play and the opportunities that they had. I just hope that they keep that kind of intensity and hustle up for the rest of the year.”