In a game delayed by a bus accident (their own), the Lynx played some good soccer despite sitting for well over an hour and rushing to start the game only an hour after the original 4 p.m. start time.

"We sat cold for an hour and a half," explained Coach Tom O'Brien, "and then rushed to start an adjusted 5 p.m. start."

O'Brien noted that they played the Howard Country Dragons evenly for the first 20 minutes but then lost their shape and fell behind 4-0 at the half.

"We regrouped during halftime," O'Brien explained, "and came out strong in the first 23 minutes of the second half with some good chances; then numbers and heat took a toll."

With a lean roster of 16 players, the lack of fresh legs coupled with the extreme heat caught up to the players and the Lynx fell to the Dragons by a final score of 8-0.

They finished the game with 10 men due to a second yellow card in the 87th minute.

In his first official start in goal, Tim Wolf "was outstanding with 14 saves; [he] interrupted many of the over-the-top and through balls outside of the box with his clever foot skills," O'Brien noted. Wolf's save percentage of 636 is ranked #3 in MDJUCO.

O'Brien praised the tough play from Kyle Hardy at right wingback who injured his arm early in the game but played as much as he could afterward. He also praised the backline of Michael Panzaratto, Mason Hale, Robby Wagner and Aaron Ostendorf. "We saw some good things from newcomers Eric Wojtkowiak and Abram Castanzo in the midfield and Grant Scibek and Joe Brauer showed we can generate opportunities up top but have to close on them."

As they gear up to play their first home game of the year against Hagerstown CC on Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 4p.m., O'Brien explained that the players "will focus on keeping [their] shape for 90 minutes and closing on finishing opportunities."