photo by: Nick Krug

Bishop Seabury Academy player Chris Cho competes for a ball with Pembroke Hill player Liam Kornitzer during the first half on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016 at Clinton Lake Youth Sports Complex.

Throughout the season, Bishop Seabury’s boys soccer team has struggled with slow starts against strong competition.

Tuesday’s match against Pembroke Hill was no different.

The Seahawks allowed two quick goals and never recovered in a 5-0 loss at Clinton Lake Youth Sports Complex.

Perhaps most frustrating for the Seahawks was both of the first-half goals were preventable. The first goal was an own goal after the slick ball slipped through goalkeeper Hank Mitchell’s gloves.

About 10 minutes later, the Raiders sent in a low cross and it snuck past a couple of Seabury defenders before it was pushed into the back of the net by Pembroke Hill’s Liam Kornitzer.

“I feel like when they score, our morale just goes down,” Seabury senior forward Chris Cho said. “I tried to cheer them up, but they can’t get up from there.”

The Seahawks (3-6) eventually settled down and held their own defensively with back-line defenders Austin Gaumer, Tommy Warden, Sam Bayliss and Max Easter. Defensive sweeper Alfonso Martello returned for his first game following a concussion and helped stop a few Pembroke Hill attacks with strong tackles.

“We started pressuring, we started communicating and not all going on one side so they had an easy cross,” Martello said. “My touch was a little rough and I tried not to head the ball, but it felt good to be back.”

Pembroke Hill controlled possession for the majority of the contest, outshooting Seabury, 23-3. The Raiders had nine shots on goal and eight corner kicks, putting constant pressure on Mitchell.

The Seahawks tried to respond with counterattacks but had trouble sustaining their offense. Thomas diZerega had a strong run down the right side of the field in the second half, but flipped his shot over the net.

Otherwise, Cho — Seabury’s top playmaker — was hounded by defenders and never had an open look at the net. Amir Shami tried to create one counterattack, but his pass was too far ahead of forward Freddie Comparato.

“Soccer is not a one-player game,” Cho said. “Even though you’re good, you can’t go through all 11 players. We need teammates to help me out, but it’s tough. I tried to make something happen, but when I make a mistake, our whole team just goes down with me. That’s one of our problems.”

In the second half, Pembroke Hill’s Alanis scored on a strike from about 35 yards away, firing a shot into the left side of the net.

The Raiders added two goals in the final 10 minutes from Kieffer DeMayo and Skye Cozad.

“We played a similar team in Bishop Miege last year in the playoffs and we fell apart,” Seabury coach Ivo Ivanov said. “Against them I never felt like we fell apart.”

Martello added: “I feel like we’re slowly getting better. I’d like to see a game where we start off right from the get-go against a bigger school.”