SLIPPERY ROCK — Lily Weitzel punched the ball past diving Hickory goalkeeper Taylor Mears on a penalty kick midway through the first half.

And the Slippery Rock girls soccer team had a 1-0 lead.

“We were up 1-0 and my heart was pounding a little bit,” said Slippery Rock coach Melanie Roczko.

That lead didn't last long.

Jacqueline Smith scored a pair of goals for the Hornets just two minutes apart and Hickory rolled to a 4-1 win over the Rockets Wednesday night.

“I knew they were going to have a quick counter attack on that, and we just weren't real prepared for it,” Roczko said.

The going has been tough for Slippery Rock (3-8, 0-3) this season due to a combination of youth and injuries.

Slippery Rock lost starting goalkeeper Hannah Willison to an ACL tear before the season. The Rockets also start six underclassmen and play two freshman on defense.

Hickory (7-1-2, 3-0) was able to exploit that youth.

“We have some defenders who can definitely keep up with their speed,” Roczko said. “We just have to adjust to quick forwards. We have a couple of freshmen in the backfield trying to figure that out this year.”

Slippery Rock's defense, though, kept Hickory off the board in the first 24 minutes.

Senior defender Laura Fisher made a nice save by booting a Hickory shot out of the box when goalkeeper Loran Leonberg came out to challenge.

That helped the Rockets take the 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Hannah Lindey made her debut in goal for the Rockets.

Lindey, who is also a standout hockey goalie as well as a cross country runner, stopped four shots in the second half and gave up just one goal, the second of the game by Hickory's Lauren Bell.

“She's just new to the roster, but she came out quick to the ball,” Roczko said. “She has a lot of hockey experience. She knows some of the angles and things like that.”

Slippery Rock was coming off a disappointing 5-1 loss to Meadville Thursday.

Despite the loss to Hickory, Roczko and junior midfielder Emily Grabb said the Rockets played markedly better.

Grabb said the loss to Hickory will actually help morale in the long run.

“Our morale was pretty low and then we won three in a row and it came up,” Grabb said. “Then we played Grove City and even though we lost, we put our heart in that game. We did the same tonight.”

Roczko is hoping for better things as the season goes on as her young players get more experience.

“I keep telling them, in our conference, you'll see every team twice,” Roczko said. “Meadville for us on Thursday was definitely a shocker for us. We didn't expect that and we have to get them the next time we play.

“Hopefully, we can take them all in the second half,” Roczko added. “If we can make adjustments and make improvements, we can take all of these games. There's no game I see that I think there's no way we can win that one.”