HARWICH ─ If all you looked at from Monday's Monomoy girls varsity soccer game against Sturgis East was the final score, a 4-3 loss for the Sharks, you don't have the whole picture, as Monomoy gave Sturgis a real run in the game's second half.

At the break, the Storm held a 3-0 lead over the Sharks thanks to a first half that found Monomoy head coach Jenn Peterson posing an important question to her players.

“Are you going to play today?” she asked.

Though the team wasn't able to pull ahead in the end, they came darn close, closing the Storm's gap significantly, leaving Monomoy fans wishing there was just five more minutes on the clock.

Tori McCormack kicked off the second half of the game with a Monomoy goal roughly two minutes in assisted by teammate Maggie Dever, narrowing East's lead 3-1, before Sturgis's Sean Liddy netted No. 4 for the Storm.

But Monomoy remained determined, with Kelsey Olson closing the gap a bit more with a score on a penalty kick to make it 4-2.

Meanwhile, a stepped-up Shark defense kept the Storm away from the goal, at least for a little while, which gave Francesca Barr time to set herself up for a late-game shot that put the score at 4-3 with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

Though the home team had opportunities in those final minutes, the combination of a solid crossbar and the quick reflexes of Sturgis goalie Abby Churchill allowed the Storm to weather the Sharks to the final horn.

Last Thursday the Sharks engaged in a defensive battle with Falmouth Academy, coming away with a scoreless tie. That outing saw strong play from goaltender Josie Ganshaw as well as Tara Barry and Abbie Higgins.

At press time Tuesday the Sharks were headed to Nantucket, with their next game set for today (Oct. 20) at 4 p.m. on the road against St. John Paul II High School. The Sharks next home game is Tuesday against Rising Tide.