THOMASTON — The Griffin High Lady Bears soccer team battled all evening but fell short again, losing to the Upson-Lee Lady Knights 9-0 Wednesday evening in Region 4-AAAA action on the road.

Upson-Lee remains undefeated at 3-0 overall and 1-0 in region play while the Lady Bears (0-3, 0-1) have now lost 16 straight matches dating back to last season. It’s been a rough road for Griffin’s girls but first-year head coach Bill Stikes, a 2004 Griffin High graduate, is doing his best with his team.

“The girls are playing well considering how young and undermanned we are. We’ve also racked up quite a few injuries early on and that doesn’t help things,” Stikes said. “With some of our starters out, we are implementing a new defensive scheme and we are still working on our alignments. The girls are pushing hard; I couldn’t be more proud of their effort. The results will come.”

Griffin didn’t score Wednesday against Upson-Lee, but the Lady Bears played as hard as they could.

“Rachel Mullis, Michelina Walcott and Victoria Calloway all had a pretty solid game against Upson. Victoria had to move up to midfield during the game and she adjusted really well to a position she hasn’t played much,” Stikes said.

Stikes also said Griffin is getting quality minutes from freshman forward Madison Weems, who’s playing with a lot of confidence for a young player.

The Lady Bears get back into action today at 10 a.m. against Northside-Warner Robins in the last day of the Trojan Cup Tournament at the Barnesville Sports Complex.