EDENTON — After a sluggish start in Edenton against John A. Holmes, the Washington soccer team found cohesion in the second half, scoring four goals in the final 40 minutes of the game to defeat the Aces 5-0 on Monday.

The Pam Pack (1-1) opened the game by showing its ability to possess the ball but was unable to advance forward and create scoring opportunities. After the match’s opening 15 minutes, Washington’s wide players began to maintain their positioning on the flanks, creating more space in the middle of the field.

That’s when Pam Pack midfielder Graham Parker took matters into his own hands and took advantage of the open space. Receiving the ball at midfield, the junior drove forward toward John A. Holmes’ (2-1) goal. Noticing the Aces’ goalie was off his line, Parker chipped the goalie from 30 yards out to open the game’s scoring with the fantastic individual effort.

“The midfielders started staying wide and everybody was in their positions, and it just opened up the field much more. That’s how we were able to create a spark,” Washington head coach Jim Kozuch said. “We opened up the field, it forced the other team to defend out wide and then Graham was able to take the ball up the middle.”

After last Friday’s disappointing 2-0 loss to Southwest Onslow to open the season, Kozuch said Parker’s goal played a part in jumpstarting his team on Monday.

“Coming off of Friday, we were a little bit bummed because we know we’re a lot better than the team that we put out on the field on Friday last week,” Kozuch said. “Obviously, scoring gets the excitement going. It took a little while; it took us about 15, 20 minutes to score a goal. But after that we started to loosen up a little bit and play much better.”

The Pam Pack couldn’t add to its lead in the first half, but the second half saw Washington put four more goals into the Aces’ goal. Cody Pinkham bagged one for himself after receiving the ball at the corner of the box from a short corner kick. The senior defender displayed some offensive skill, placing his shot in the corner of the goal, beyond the reach of the goalie. Danny Jimenez closed out the game’s scoring, being at the right place at the right time on three occasions to get the hat trick.

Even after Monday’s big win, Kozuch feels Washington hasn’t found its groove yet. The Pam Pack coach said the team has more than enough ability, it’s just about finding the best way to utilize the talent at his disposal.

“I’ve got like 13 or 14 guys that I’m very confident that can play good soccer. But trying to find the right cohesive unit is tough,” Kozuch said. “Finding that perfect unit has not happened yet.”