The second 40 minutes were much better than the first 40 minutes.
And the first 40 weren't that bad.
"The girls started connecting with each other," Lady Jays coach Dal DuBois said after Jefferson City opened the soccer season with a 3-0 victory against the Camdenton Lady Lakers at the 179 Soccer Park.
"We possessed the ball a lot better, we were finding people in the right places with the right passes in open spaces."
Jefferson City got on the board first midway through the first half. The Camdenton keeper came out of the net to try to snare a rolling ball, but it got away from her. Izzy Schmidt of Jefferson City was hustling on the play and was able to tap the ball over the goal line into the open net before a Camdenton defender could stop it.
"You see that in soccer all the time," DuBois said. "There's a deflection or a bobble or a bad bounce, it can get away.
"Izzy did a really good job of making sure she had a chance if something like that happened."
The Lady Jays doubled their lead less than four minutes into the second half on a goal by Emily McMillian.
"It's always good to get a quick one like that, without a doubt," DuBois said. "You always feel better when you get that extra one."
Jefferson City's final goal came with about 10 minutes left. On a corner kick, Maya Saint found herself alone with the ball in front of the Camdenton goal and she lined it into the back of the net.
"I love seeing bangers like that, it shocked the net," DuBois said. "She was in the right place at the right time," DuBois said.
Jefferson City's defense was strong all night in front of keepper Riley McKee.
"It was phenomenal," DuBois said. "We did a very good job of controlling the ball and swinging it to open areas. That's a product of what we've been on working a lot.
"We had a very high possession rate tonight and that started with our defenders doing what they did."
It was a good opening game for the Lady Jays and DuBois, making his coaching debut at Jefferson City.
"The girls put their hearts into it, they were strong," DuBois said. "I try to make sure the girls have fun, they've worked hard for a long time and when they get to the games, they should have fun."
And it's always fun to win.
"Absolutely," DuBois said.
Camdenton is now 3-3 on the season.
Tuesday night was one of just six games for the Lady Jays this season.
Jefferson City will look for win No. 2 on Monday when it opens its Central Missouri Activities Conference schedule at Capital City against the Lady Cavaliers. The varsity-only game will start at 5:30 p.m.