With all the smiles on faces and hugs given out on the sideline, it was hard to tell the Coupeville girls soccer team had just fallen to 0-9 with a loss to La Conner on Thursday night.

How could one be joyous after a 3-0 defeat?

How could anyone be so happy in a season where they’ve only scored one goal?

The answer is simple: improvement.

Last time Coupeville’s first-year soccer program played the Braves, they didn’t have a chance, losing 8-0.

“Even though it was 3-0, we were in this game the whole time,” head coach Kim Sherman said. “I mean it looks like it was more unmatched than it was.”

In fact, Coupeville had the first opportunity of the game to score when Julie Mottet slipped behind the La Conner defense for a breakaway. Her shot missed, but it set a different tone for the Wolves, who are normally on the defensive.

“They’re really coming along, they’re doing awesome,” Sherman said of her team.

The Braves broke a scoreless tie in the 19th minute, when forward Laura Coe connected on a one-on-one penalty kick past goalkeeper Corrin Skavarla.

La Conner scored on another penalty kick 16 minutes later, this time from 20 yards out. Midfielder Anna Raymond laid the ball down and took a shot on goal before the Coupeville defense even turned around.

“We practiced that yesterday and told them, you know what, that’s going to kill us, and they learned the hard way,” Sherman said.

The Wolves kept the score at 2-0, until Raymond tacked on one more goal with just over a minute remaining in the game.

With five games left this season, Coupeville’s next small step will be to get its first ever win.

“We’ve gotten better, we’ve improved,” sophomore captain Kim Kisch said. “There’s a couple of teams we’ve been really close with — I think we will (win).”

The Wolves have their next game Tuesday, Oct. 12 at Shoreline Christian.