Eventually the bounces will start going the right way for the Parkland field hockey.

But for the young team in a young season with a new coach, things have yet to break very favorably.

First-year coach Michelle Steele saw a lot of things she liked during her team's 2-1 overtime loss to Northampton on Monday. Her squad had most of the possession in the K-Kids' half. When they didn't, they showed great speed on the counterattack with senior attacker Brooke Benedict leading the way.

The Trojans, who have just five returning varsity players, also showed a lot of heart, battling back from a deficit to tie the game late.

But in overtime, Parkland couldn't help a hard shot from Emily Nonnemacher that was deflected and got past Anna Ostrander to give Northampton the win.

"It was a tough loss, we could have gotten a win," Steele said. "I told them afterward that I don't think they believe in themselves enough because of who we lost. But I've been telling them that I'd much rather have 11 players on the field that work together and play as a unified team than one or two strong players that take control of the game."

Parkland showed glimpses of confidence throughout the game and that allowed the team to push it to overtime. Nonnemacher put the Kids up early with a rocket shot on goal at the 11:52 mark in the first half.

But the Trojans didn't get down on themselves. Instead the used long passing and speed to make several runs into Northampton territory. The Trojans almost knotted the game before the half, earning a corner with less than a minute to go, but couldn't beat Northampton's defense.

With under six minutes to go in regulation, Parkland finally struck. A series of passes led to Sammie Szewczak with the ball on the right side and just inside of the circle. She fired a shot at the cage and Benedict was there to clam it home and tie the game.

"Sammie has been really strong for us so far," Steele said. "She's back with some experience and so is Brooke and Jess Leiby. But we're still really young and we're going to go through some growing pains."

The team posted its first win of the season on Saturday, traveling to Brodheadsville and taking down Pleasant Valley 4-1. They also have a nonleague loss to Wilson West Lawn and dropped a 1-0 game with Nazareth to open league play.

This week will be telling for Steele and her squad. After a tough loss to Northampton, the Trojans have three more games, traveling to Whitehall on Wednesday, hosting Liberty on Friday and playing at Lehighton on Saturday.

All three teams play on turf fields, meaning the Trojans will have to adjust their style of play for the road games.

Only two LVC teams play on grass - Parkland and Northampton.

"When we play on turf we practice the day before at Iron Lakes," Steele said. "There are some legit turf teams and you're going to start to see a bigger gap as some of these girls have gotten to play and practice on turf for four years."

For now, the team will continue to focus on the fundamentals and Steele knows that the progress will come. With a roster featuring eight seniors and a bevy of underclassmen, the Trojans will only get better as the year goes on.

Their head coach just hopes the light bulbs start clicking sooner rather than later.

"Its those growing pains, its believing in ourselves and its some of that little stuff," Steele said. "We're going to finish strong, its just been a tough start this season."