CHOCOWINITY — The Southside soccer team won its third-straight game Wednesday evening in come-from-behind fashion, as two second-half goals gave the Seahawks a 3-1 victory.

After a tumultuous start to the season, which included six-straight losses to NCHSAA teams, the Seahawks are beginning to find their groove when it matters most, outshooting the Bears, 27-13, en route to a compact defensive victory.

“We’ve been down to teams before and have played a horrible first half against skilled teams — not that Bear Grass isn’t good, but we’re talking 2-A and 3-A schools — where we played a better second half,” said head coach John Lohman. “It’s not a matter of not knowing what to do, it’s a matter of making the decision to go out there and play hard. When you play better in the second half than the first, it’s not conditioning, it’s not anything other than wanting it more.”

Facing a first-half deficit is nothing new to coach Lohman’s team and in the early stages of the game, it was Bear Grass winning the possession battle. Junior forward Drew Lyle broke down the defense, earning a few opportunities at net, but could not capitalize. Following the slow start, Seahawks winger Devin Guzman and striker Jesse Lohman began to spread the field. Eleven minutes into the half, midfielder Allison Tallcott found Jesse Lohman in front, just inside the 18-yard box. Lohman turned and fired a shot off the crossbar in what was one of the best scoring chances of the half for Southside.

Two minutes later off a set piece, the Bears’ Collin Modlin found the back of the net after a chaotic fight for the ball in the box.

For the remainder of the half, both teams traded shots, most of which were either sprayed over the crossbar or comfortably far from the post. Tallcott served as the glue to the midfield in the later stages of the half, as Southside began to control possession and push the ball up.

With two minutes left in the half, Jesse Lohman found himself on the receiving end of a through ball. The Southside striker fired a shot past the outstretched arm of the goalie and into the upper corner of the net to tie the game heading into the break.

Southside outshot the Bears, 13-8, through the first 40 minutes.

The Bears came inches away from reclaiming the lead to start second half after Lyle redirected a Michael Weigand cross just to the left of the goal post. Another scare for the Seahawks came minutes later when Tallcott collided with an opposing midfielder, knocking her to the ground and out of the game. At the same time, a shot from Fabian Ramirez caromed off the extended arm of a Bear Grass defender, a clear-cut missed call from the referee that caused uproar among the fans and the Southside coaching staff. As a Tallcott lay on the ground in pain, attended to by the assistant coaching staff, coach Lohman voiced his frustration with the missed call, receiving a yellow card as a result.

About 20 minutes into the half, a mistake in the defense resulted in a goal for Southside, as Jesse Lohman stole a pass in the backfield, picked his spot and scored easily, giving his team a 2-1 lead. For the remainder of the game, Edgar Aballi, Riley Ward, captain Hayden Ward and the rest of the defense shut down the opposing attack, holding it to zero shots.

With Tallcott out, coach Lohman dropped Jesse Lohman back to the midfield and moved Juan Cruz to forward.

“(Cruz) did a great job of controlling, distributing and frustrating the other team,” coach Lohman said. “When he’s got the ball and spinning back and forth and you can’t take it from him, that leaves the wings open. He showed me a little something maybe we could use later on.”

Guzman iced the game with 10 minutes left, as he was able to corral a deflected shot and slip it between the post and goalie.

In total, Southside outshot Bear Grass 27-13. With the win, the team improves to 4-6-2 overall and 2-2 in Coastal Plains Conference play.

“Now that we’ve won three in a row, they know they can do it,” coach Lohman said. “At this point in the season, really, a lot of coaching is over and it’s up to the kids to play. If they want to play hard, they will compete. If they want to lay back and lose, they’ll lay back and lose, which I don’t think they’ll do.”

Southside will face East Carteret in Beaufort on Wednesday. The Seahawks will look to avenge a 9-0 blowout home loss to the Mariners on Sept. 15 and gain ground in the conference.