For head coach Jim Kozuch’s standards, it’s been a rocky start for a team still working to find its identity.

In the new 4-5-1 formation, the Pam Pack had increments of success in its first game against the 2013 state runner-up First Flight, but looked generally disorganized at times. Washington lost its opener, 5-2, and arguably the team’s two best players — senior Lupe Barrera and junior William Tate — for its second game against Riverside.

The Knights, fresh off a one-win season, were no match for the Pam Pack even without its two stars, but today, Kozuch will need all the firepower he can muster when his team hosts an old conference foe, D.H. Conley.

Kozuch is hopeful Tate will be in goal and Barrera, who has not participated in the last few practices, will be the rock in the midfield.

Injuries aside, the holes in the Pam Pack’s starting lineup are beginning to be filled, including at striker, where junior Kyle Hodges has notched five goals in just two games. Hodges worked this offseason improving his technicality and his stamina, both seem to be paying dividends, thus far.

Leo Brown, Weston Brown, Gabriel Valle-Torres and Jose Corona have also stepped up into starting roles, while Holt McKeithan continues to be a staple on defense.

Today marks the second game of the season for the Vikings, who are coming off an 11-5-2 season under head coach Kurt Garner. Despite losing seven seniors to graduation, Conley’s leading scorer, Nate Evans, returns with a solid defensive supporting cast.

Washington will try to avoid falling under the .500 mark and pick up a quality win against a Class 3-A team. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m.