KILL DEVIL HILLS — When the Washington and First Flight soccer teams met 10 months ago, a spot in the eastern regional championship on the line, it was the Nighthawks who defended their home pitch effectively, two goals in the final 15 propelling the host to a 3-1 victory, ending the Pam Pack’s season and 19-game win streak.

Although the ultimate target of a state championship was not met, head coach Jim Kozuch remained confident and spoke bluntly after the game, “If you said we would win 19-straight games and make it to the quarterfinals, I wouldn’t have agreed with you … I couldn’t have asked for more this year.”

After all, the Pam Pack lost 10 seniors to graduation prior to the 2014 campaign. And while the program’s expectations hardly ever change — a state championship or bust mentality permanently entrenched — the chances of advancing past First Flight, a perennial roadblock, are much more realistic in 2015.

Tomorrow, Washington will get another crack at the Nighthawks, who enter with an overall record of 4-0-1 under head coach Juan Ramirez. But like the 2014 Pam Pack, First Flight graduated nine seniors last fall from the state runner-up team, one that finished with a near perfect 24-1-1 record.

The tide seems to have shifted ever so slightly in favor of the Pack. Now, it’s a senior-laden Washington that enters with a perfect 8-0 record, having outscored opponents 56-5 — a goal differential much higher than last year’s First Flight team eight games in.

“We’re looking for a better result, obviously,” Kozuch said. “We played them twice last year and we didn’t get the result we were looking for. I think this year we’re bringing a better team to them and we’re not looking for anything less than a win.”

Using the same 4-4-2 formation, with the exception of a few mid-season adjustments, Kozuch has something he didn’t have last season — balance. As he anticipated in August, the forwards have produced marvelously, the addition of senior Freddy Jimenez paying huge dividends thus far. Jimenez’s 17 goals lead the team, while senior striker Kyle Hodges, who scored 40 goals last season, has 15 goals through eight starts.

The midfield, Kozuch said, has looked better than ever with junior Erik Ruiz as the focal point. Ruiz, along with seniors Miguel Hernandez and Gabriel Vallez-Torres, have been catalysts in transition, working the ball up front to Jimenez and Hodges on a consistent and efficient basis.

“I think they’ll have a really good midfield and it’ll be nice to have our midfield match up evenly,” Kozuch said of First Flight. “Our attack is solid and I think we’ll score some goals no matter what. Defensively, if we come to play, I think we win the game.”

As for the Nighthawks’ offensive production, Ramirez has seen production for a variety of different areas. Junior midfielder Tommy Scott is tied with striker Grayson Murphy for the team lead in goals at five, while defender Ian Kenny has capitalized on set pieces with three goals. Freshmen Carlos Aguilar and Trent Powell have also made nice additions, scoring three goals apiece.

First Flight, undoubtedly, will be the toughest test for Washington on the regular season slate and offer insight to what lies ahead come November. The Nighthawks averaging five goals a game against tough competition, but it’s been the team’s defense that has provided the foundation, holding opponents to less than a goal per game.

Tomorrow’s game kicks off at 6 p.m. in Kill Devil Hills. Coverage will be available on www.thewashingtondailynews.com and in Friday’s sports section.