The Rochester boys soccer team played well for a majority of its game against Montesano on Thursday, but the Warriors let a pair of two-goal leads slip away in their 5-4 loss to the Bulldogs.

“We started each half playing the style of soccer that we wanted to,” Rochester coach Matt Ashton said. “I think that the boys see that they can compete with these teams in the league. We just need to be better at finishing out games when we have the lead.”

Justin Gochez got the Warriors on the board almost instantly with a goal in the second minute, and Cristian Acahua made it 2-0 in the eighth.

Montesano scored the next two to tie the game at two, but a penalty kick from Aiden Villanueva before the break gave Rochester a 3-2 lead at halftime.

The Warriors started the second half just as quickly as they did the first, as Jamie Rodriguez Meraz scored in the first minute after halftime.

Ezra Aliff saved a PK in the 47th minute to preserve the two-goal lead, but Montesano got within one with a goal in the 53rd. The Bulldogs tied it in the 61st on another PK, and they took the lead for good in the 73rd.

“Overall, I was happy with the way we played,” Ashton said. “We knew that coming back down to the 1A league, taking on the reigning league champions, and hitting the ground running was not going to be an easy task.”

Ashton also gave credit to his freshman, who he said were “thrown into the fire” and “performed well even with butterflies in their stomachs.”

The Warriors (0-1, 0-1 1A Evergreen) will be back at home on Tuesday to host Elma.