For the first time in head coach Jim Kozuch’s tenure, the Washington soccer team earned its 10th-straight win Tuesday evening in a six-goal performance against the reigning conference runner-up, Beddingfield.

It was an achievement that should have incited celebration and high-fives all around, but that was hardly the case following a performance sprinkled with ups, downs and, at times, gritty, ugly soccer.

“We may have won 10 in a row, but we’re going to have to really step up our play the second time through the conference because there are a lot of teams playing good soccer right now,” Kozuch said. “Beddingfield is a good team, but North Pitt and North Johnston gave us some trouble. We’re going to need to play a lot better if we’re going to remain undefeated.”

With senior Leo Brown and junior Gabriel Valle-Torres, who has been battling concussion-like symptoms, absent from the starting 11, Kozuch was forced to make a few unconventional position swaps before and during Tuesday’s match. Center midfielder Lupe Barrera was dropped to the back line to compensate for the absence of Valle-Torres, and Jose Corona, who has impressed the coaching staff of late, was inserted into the midfield.

Mirroring each of the 10 games during the streak, the Pam Pack came out in the opening minutes energized, spreading the field with accurate long balls and switches to create a handful of great chances at net. Nine minutes in and on the fourth shot of the game, junior right-winger Miguel Hernandez hit a well-paced, poor-angle shot from the right side that found a two-foot space between the goalie and the post, giving Washington an early one-goal lead.

The onslaught continued for another six minutes, as the Washington midfield cut off a handful of Bruins’ runs. Then, a cleared cross from inside the box found the right foot of Corona, who blasted a shot from just outside the 18 and into the top right corner of the net.

Following the second goal, the midfield began to play more of a cushion defense, allowing Beddingfield’s standout senior striker Oscar Jaimes to dribble his way into Washington territory. Jaimes was able to find his counterpart, Jorge Mariano, on a slip pass with 16 minutes to go, resulting in the Bruins’ only shot of the first half, but the pair could not finish.

In the final minutes before the break, a few small scuffles broke out in the midfield. One specific occasion involved two Bruins midfielders and senior William Page. Shoves were exchanged, play was halted and the referee had a word will all involved, but no cards were distributed.

“I think that we were focused too much on scoring and not enough on team play in the first half,” Kozuch said. “I think we moved the ball around a little bit better in the second half and were able to get better shots. When you have better shots you have better opportunities, so we capitalized a little bit more.”

While Washington would find its groove through the final 25 minutes, the team struggled to finish early in the half. After a missed opportunity from Bedingfield, the forward combination of junior Kyle Hodges and senior Sergio Higuera began to click, the pair notching four shots, but not one found the back of the net.

Finally, off a set piece 15 minutes into the half, a Higuera corner connected with the head of Page for the third goal of the contest. And three minutes later, it was Page who found Hernandez and the junior midfielder fired a shot on the ground from 25-yards out that slipped just past the goalie.

The Pam Pack continued to create scoring opportunities through the final 20 minutes and two resulted in goals — one by Brown, who entered the game off the bench in the second half, and one from Higuera.

Washington finished with a resounding 35 shots, the defense holding Beddingfield to just two in 80 minutes. Despite a solid defensive performance, Kozuch was unhappy with how the midfield and forwards communicated and moved the ball.

“It’s trying to keep these guys inspired. We play a lot of tough games, but unfortunately when we have a down game, they play down to the competition,” he said. “That’s where I’m going to have to pull some magic out of my hat and find someway to keep these guys inspired.”

With the win, Kozuch’s team improves to 12-4-1 and remains undefeated in Eastern Plains Conference play. The Pam Pack will travel to Farmville today to take on the Jaguars for the second time this season. In the conference opener, Washington routed Farmville Central, 9-0, as Higuera and Hodges both notched hat tricks.

“Our record shows how good we’ve been playing, which is a lot better than we did to start the season, but I think that right now we’re kind of in a lull,” Kozuch said. “We need to get back to playing team soccer. I think we’ve fallen off from that. We’ve been focusing too much on the stat sheet.”