Lawrence High senior Micaela Riley, left, kicks the ball away from Pembroke Hill freshman Caroline Peterson (10) during their match Tuesday evening at LHS.

There were times when Lawrence High’s girls soccer team looked dominant on Tuesday, creating offense with strong passes and playing tough defense.

Then there were times when the Lions looked like a team playing in their first game of the year. In the season opener, the Lions took the bad with the good in a 2-1 victory against Pembroke Hill (Mo.) at LHS.

“I told the girls it was an ugly win, but we’ll take it,” first-year coach Matt McCune said after winning in his LHS debut. “I’m happy for the girls because they’ve been working really hard. But they deserved it. We got better and better as the game went along.”

LHS sophomore midfielder Maria Duncan scored the game-winner with 30 minutes left, converting on a penalty kick after a handball in the 18-yard box.

Duncan drew the PK when she tried to dribble around a defender and the defender fell, which led to the handball.

“I was just like, ‘I can’t kick this over. I need to focus and keep my head down,'” Duncan said of her thoughts before she scored in the lower left corner.

Despite first-game jitters, it didn’t take long for the Lions to score their first goal of the season. Junior forward Skylar Drum weaved around defenders on the left side of the box and snuck a pass to junior midfielder Carson Drake, who was wide open and drilled a shot into the net in the 11th minute.

“The ball Skylar played to me was just an amazing ball — I couldn’t not put it in,” Drake said.

The Lions had chances to add more goals in the first 40 minutes. Freshman forward Anna Chieu had a pair of open looks around the net, but couldn’t sneak shots past the keeper, and Drum had a goal waved off after a lengthy discussion by the officials because she was ruled offsides.

In the second half, the Lions found their rhythm. They only scored on Duncan’s penalty kick, but had several opportunities with strong passing by midfielders Drake, Sophie Minder, Erin Ventura, Mikayla Downs and Sofia Dominguez.

“In the first half, we were sort of just kicking the ball and running after it,” Drake said. “In the second half, we did a better job of finding feet and finding open space.”

The Raiders, who have former LHS coach Justin Young as an assistant coach, outshot the Lions, 19-15. They had some strong opportunities including a shot off of the post in the first half, and Lawrence sophomore goalkeeper Tori Mosakowski made a diving stop to her right on another shot.

Less than three minutes into the second half, Pembroke Hill freshman Rachel Legg scored on a cross from freshman Caroline Peterson.

After giving up a goal, the Lions were strong defensively and didn’t allow many quality looks. Despite featuring a young back line — sophomores Katelyn McIntyre and Bess Davison and freshmen Evann Seratte and Leslie Ostronic — the Lions grew more comfortable and confident in the second half.

“Once we got our formation figured out and we started talking more and connecting passes, it was a lot easier,” Duncan said.

The Lions will play host to Highland Park at 6 p.m. Thursday.