Ask the U10 Kaw Valley Soccer Association Red team what their favorite part of playing soccer is and hands down they will say that it is having fun kicking the ball with friends.

“My favorite part about soccer is having a lot of fun,” said Meagan Roberts, center and goalie for the Red team. “It doesn’t really matter if you win or lose.”

Roberts and her teammates got a chance to have their fun on Saturday when they faced off against the Blue team at Youth Sports Inc.

Though the score wasn’t the main focus of the game, the Red team lost to the Blue team by two goals. The Red team lagged behind until the halftime break when refocused their game, which allowed them to make a speedy comeback.

It was the Blue team that took the game’s early lead. The team scored three goals in the first half and successfully fortified their own goal from attacks by the Red team.

While the Red team scored no points in the first they worked together to push the Blue team away from the net, preventing them from gaining an even greater lead.

Red and Blue players gather around the ball on Saturday after a last second save by the goalie in the U10 match-up at Youth Sports Inc. The Blue team won the battle with the Red team 6-4.

The Red team’s Abby Schletzbaum said though they lagged behind at the close of the half, her team was prepared to play tough in the second.

“I feel my team played really hard,” Schletzbaum said. “We tried our best.”

The Red team got the chance to show off their best after the halftime break, when they came back with a vengeance.

The Red team quickly gained an edge on the Blue team’s points. The team shot in two goals before Schletzbaum came in from behind to find the back of the net for a third. The team attempted one more shot before Schletzbaum pushed in her second goal of the game, one goal short of a hat trick. Roberts stepped out in the goalie position to save the ball more than once for the Red team. The rapid-fire scoring and Roberts’ goals put the red team one point behind the Blue team, 5-4.

The Blue team took advantage of a weakness in the Red team’s play and ran in for their sixth goal right before the game ended. The goal gave the Blue team the winning edge and they recorded the 6-4 win.

Even though they lost, the Red team said they began the game hopeful of making some improvements in their overall play as individual players.

“I like playing striker, but I wanted to work on being a better goalie,” Schletzbaum said. “It’s really about having fun and playing your hardest.”

True to her words, Roberts said that even though her team lost, she still had a lot of fun.

The team said they look forward to having more fun in games and continuing to enhance their ball handling skills.