On a team that’s prided themselves on defense all year long, the back line finally showed some weakness Monday night.

In a non-conference matchup under the lights on Sept. 19 at Lane Stadium, the Lane Tech Champions (5-2-1) conceded twice and couldn’t find the back of the net in route to a 2-0 loss to the Latin Romans (9-3-1).

Lane started off strong, holding their ground for the majority of the first half. But a slip up in defense allowed Latin to score their first goal. 

Then a foul by Lane gave Latin a free kick, which they would convert for their second goal of the game. This left a 2-0 deficit for Lane heading into the halftime break.

Lane went into the second half with a more aggressive offense, keeping the ball in their possession for the bulk of the 40 minutes. 

“I felt like the intensity was there [in] the second half,” sophomore Benicio LaCerda said. “We still have to get on par with our playing.”

While several shots on goal were made, none proved to be successful. 

After the loss, Lane Head Coach Andrew Ricks said he thought his team’s effort wasn’t where it needed to be to be competitive in the game.

“I think there are players that think you just show up or it just happens, and they get outworked,” Ricks said.

While Latin did not add on any more goals in the second half, the game ended 2-0 as Lane couldn’t convert. After a loss against Morton on Sept. 12, this was Lane’s second loss in one week. 

“I think that a loss can be a good thing, especially when it doesn’t matter as much. It doesn’t feel good, but I think you learn a lot more from losing than winning,” Ricks said.

Lane plays rival Lincoln Park today, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m.

“You know we’re just going to try bringing what we have to Lincoln Park…” LaCerda said. “And we’re just going to implement what we did in the second half into the next game.”