The Moffat County High School girls team has been a second-half team all year.

It’s the first 20 minutes, however, that has hurt them.

“They have the mentality that they are a second-half team,” said coach Carla Bamford. “I don’t know why. To me, it’s a mystery why we don’t come out and play like we can in the first half.”

The Bulldogs surrendered four goals in the first half against Roaring Fork Thursday afternoon at Woodbury Park. In the second half, Moffat County outscored the Rams, 1-0, to finish the game with a 4-2 loss.

The second half marked the seventh time in nine games that the Bulldogs have either outscored or tied their opponents after the break. Yet a 2-7 record reveals that the second-half competitiveness hasn’t been enough of a comeback.

“We played well against Rifle and then today, in the first half, we were flat footed,” Bamford said. “Then we came out and played aggressive in the second half. We looked like the team that played Rifle on Tuesday.”

Against Roaring Fork, Michelle Workman scored the first goal for the Bulldogs in the 27th minute. She took a pass from Chloe Gilchrist near midfield then dribbled past, around and through several defenders on the right side and crossed a shot into the net.

Workman’s goal made it 2-1, but Roaring Fork came right back when a shot ricocheted off the left post right back to a Ram, who kicked it in.

After a missed penalty kick by the Bulldogs, the Cougars put the game out of reach with a goal five seconds before the half ended.

In the second half, the Bulldogs out-shot the Cougars, led by Brittany Rummel, who ran through the defense’s offsides trap on a regular basis. One of Rummel’s shots bounced through the goalie’s hands and Amy Casinger tapped the rebound into the net to make it 4-2.

“As the season progresses, we are becoming more aggressive,” Bamford said. “The more that the girls win 50/50 balls, it makes them more confident to attack for the win.”

The Bulldogs travel to Battle Mountain to face the Huskies at 11 a.m. Saturday.