What the Cougars needed was another minute or two to avoid the 3-2 loss to Leesville Road that they suffered in a non-conference match Thursday night at Apex's field.

And the frustrating part for the Cougars was coach Kevin Todd's team knew all too well where they left valuable minutes – in a slow-starting first half.

"Our second half was much better,” Todd said. “In the first half we made defensive mistakes and there was a lack of intensity. We remedied that in the second half, so hopefully this will be a good early-season lesson for us.”

Leesville Road, ranked No. 2 in the News & Observer boys soccer rankings, scored in the game's first two minutes en route to a 3-1 halftime lead and then held on in the second half.

The Pride dropped their opener to Fuquay-Varina 5-2 and improved to 1-1 in a shaky start despite the return of veteran coach Paul Dinkenor to the boys sideline. Dinkenor started the school's boys program, but he has been away the last seven years while leading the Pride's girls team to three state titles in the last four years.

"We're not playing very good soccer right now,” Dinkenor said. "We scored three nice goals and our goalkeeper (Sam Griffin) played solidly in the second half, but it took a couple of goal-line clearances for us to survive. We shouldn't have needed to survive.”

Apex dropped to 1-1 after opening the season with a 7-0 win over Durham Riverside.

The Cougars' Alex Herbst, a senior midfielder, scored both goals against Leesville Road and already has six for the season after tallying four against Riverside.

"He's off to a very good start,” Todd said. “He's a captain and he's providing us with the leadership you want to see. That kind of leadership on the field is invaluable.”

Leesville Road's early goal came on a header off a corner kick by senior Jordan Gudaitis.

Apex answered with its own header in the ninth minute. Herbst scored on an assist from senior defender Andrew Dodd.

The Pride took a 2-1 lead on the 15th minute. Apex goalie Anthony D'Andreti made a diving save, but Justin Arostegui was able to redirect the rebound into an open net.

The Pride used another rebound goal off a blocked shot for a 3-1 lead when senior Kayvon Ezami scored in the 35th minute.

“The way we were playing, those (rebound goals) shouldn't have come into play,” Todd said. “We weren't playing with enough energy. Our energy level was not what it should have been from the start. But we have to move on from here.”