MORRISVILLE — The Green Hope women’s soccer team held serve at home on Wednesday night, holding off Apex 2-0 in a match that featured the top two teams in the Tri-Eight Conference.

After suffering a 3-0 loss to Panther Creek — only the second conference loss of the year with the first coming to Apex — two days prior, Green Hope coach Bobby Peterson made some adjustments.

His team, although still sporting one of the best win-loss records in the area, was in need of some answers if it wanted to bounce back strong against a team that had beaten them before.

It would’ve been easy for Green Hope to come out flat after Peterson tinkered with the starting lineup on a team that had twice as many wins as losses, but instead the Falcons showed poise in their new roles. The result was a win that as of April 26, put them just one game back of Apex for the conference lead.

“The maturity level was shown when some of the players who had to go and perform a different role — there was no complaint, there was nothing — they just stepped in and filled their role beautifully,” Perterson said. “A lot of players would’ve sat around and been upset, but none of them did.”

After a first half that ended without a score and about equal in terms of possession and shots on goal, the Falcons took the lead with 28:47 left in the second period.

Sophomore Ashley Stokes was on the left side of the box when she won a ball back from a defender before launching a strike into the left upper corner of the net.

The goal provided a huge emotional boost for the Falcons.

“[Stokes] had a monster season for us last season, and she said she felt like she was trying to get her game back and we told her to keep with it,” Peterson said.

“The ladies were excited about taking the lead, but they knew how hard she had been working to get it and to get it in this kind of stage, everybody was — ironically — stoked for her.”

The Cougars nearly evened things up as the clock ticked just under the 10-minute mark. After a corner kick skidded past players from both teams into the back of the box, Green Hope needed a freshman, Haley Patsey, to come through with a clearing kick inches before it crossed the painted goal line.

“We didn’t expect anything less. It’s a rivalry game and our schools have a history of playing close games and we knew we were going to be in for a very good game,” Apex coach Kevin Todd said. “You can just throw out the scores, throw out the books, because one game to next really doesn’t play a big part.”

Another Green Hope freshman provided the second Falcons goal.

Grace Hamashima, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time all season, scored from the top of the box with 3:33 left, ultimately sealing the win.

It was sweet revenge for Hamashima, who had fired a shot just minutes before that deflected downward off the crossbar, bounced straight up off the ground and then back off the crossbar before being cleared by Apex defenders.

“We all finished really hard, and that was what I wanted to do, I wanted to finish as hard as I could,” Hamashima said. “[The goal] was [scored] mainly because I was mad about the one I missed ... I really wanted to score and make up for it.”

It’s the second time in as many years Green Hope has been able to slay conference juggernaut Apex in a series that’s elevated to arch-rival status.

“We beat them last year and it was special, but being able to come back from a loss and be able to put it together like that against a team we know is the class of this conference was a big deal for them,” Peterson said. “And the girls, they felt it. You could see it tonight.”