Pendleton's Stephanie Breshears shoots the ball on goal guarded by two Baker defenders Tuesday in Pendleton.<br> Staff photo by E.J. Harris

PENDLETON – If there has been one major difference from the beginning of this season to now for the Pendleton girls’ soccer team, it is the team’s recent knack for playing to the wire with a win in sight.

The Bucks opened the season with a 7-0 loss against Baker, but Saturday, the Bucks knocked off Mac-Hi after not scoring a point in its first three contests.

And Tuesday, Pendleton carried that momentum into a rematch with the unbeaten Bulldogs, this time losing 3-1 despite the team playing better soccer on the whole, according to coach Rocky Dillenburg.

“I think we’re getting better,” said senior defender Steffane Oles. “We’re working together a lot better than anything else … (Mac-Hi) gave us the thought that we can win if we work hard.”

It was a scoreless affair for much of the first half as both teams kept the ball in the center of the field, but the Bulldogs (4-0-1) were the first to break the deadlock as Dallas Defrees took a corner kick and shot it into the back of the net.

Other than that goal, though, Dillenburg said the Bucks’ (1-4) defense played very strong, with the other two goals coming on balls over the top of his goalkeeper Jillian Short.

“Two of their goals were more ‘Well, I don’t know what to do so I’m just going to blast it,'” Dillenburg said. “You raise your hands and they get over your head. You get to the next level and those goals aren’t goals. Those are just repossessions.

“I discourage our girls from playing that way. We want to tie some passes together, get some tight passes with some good creative ball movement and score that way.”

Oles added it’s the defense’s job to put pressure on the shooter, in order to stop those kind of goals. For the most part that defense was solid, but Defrees found an opening to make the score 2-0 and Mackenzie Warner found another opening in the second half.

As far as moving the ball, the Bucks did score its one goal to Dillenburg’s liking. Freshman Whitney Hillmick drilled a cross-field pass to an open Erin Lasher, who kicked it by Baker’s keeper, Kristen Hoopes, for the opening goal of the second half.

Lasher was making her first start since moving up from the defensive side of the field, and the team adjusted well to her move to the target position.

Hillmick, meanwhile, has made a seamless transition to varsity soccer at the high school level. According to Oles, “She really fits in with the team.”

“She was a little tentative the first couple of games,” Dillenburg added. “But the last couple of games she’s gotten up to speed and has a feel for what’s happening on the field. It’s a pretty physical game and she’s adjusting well to that – bouncing off and staying on her feet instead of getting knocked to the ground.”

Hillmick helped orchestrate a couple of other opportunities down the stretch – including a free kick that was stopped by Hoopes – but the Bucks could not break down the door against Baker.

There were a few close calls there where we almost got some goals,” Oles said. “But we have more games coming and hopefully we’ll start to convert on some of those.”

Dillenburg said it’s all about patience. At this point his offense still loses focus every once in a while, booting the ball downfield when they need to use ball control to work up field.

The Bucks have one more tune-up game against Riverside Tuesday before entering Intermountain Conference play.