No, the Wildcats didn’t win, walking away from a Big North Conference matchup with Gaylord with a 3-2 loss.

But after a slow start that saw them fall behind 2-0 after 10 minutes, the Wildcats (4-2) showed they could battle back on a cold, windy night at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium that saw snow fall at various times during the game.

Megan Dubie and Reese Wisniewski had single tallies for the Wildcats, who cut the lead to 3-2 with under 10 minutes to go. But Gaylord held on for the win, allowing Alpena just one shot on goal in the final five minutes.

“The first 10 minutes of the game it looked like we were going to get mercied. Then the girls stepped it up. They played well and made it an entertaining match,” Alpena coach Gregg Supiran said. “We had a number of opportunities at the end.”

News Photo by James Andersen Alpena’s Megan Dubie (6) slips a ball by Gaylord’s keeper on the way to scoring a goal during the first half of a girls soccer game on Tuesday at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.

Wisniewski buried a penalty kick with 8:56 left to bring Alpena to within one. She had another good chance less than two minutes later, sending a ball past the top left corner of the net.

Alpena outshot Gaylord 9-5 for the game, including more than a half dozen chances in the second half. One of the Wildcats’ best came when Gaylord’s goal stopped a point blank chance with 24 minutes left after a cross from Kami Schultz.

“Gaylord’s goaltender was incredible. She made some incredible saves and made them at the right moments, so kudos to her,” Supiran said.

Gaylord struck quickly to open the game, scoring twice before the game was 10 minutes old. Alpena went without a shot for a lengthy stretch, but finally converted an opportunity on Dubie’s goal.

With 12:19 left, Dubie won a race to the ball against Gaylord’s keeper, slipped the ball past her and found herself all alone with an open net in front of her for the goal. Dubie’s goal came less than a minute after Wisniewski had a similar chance that Alpena was unable to convert.

Gaylord took a two-goal cushion, making it 3-1 with 21:18 left in the game. Claire Gorno took a cross from a teammate and found plenty of space in front to shoot and score.

While weather conditions were less than ideal, Supiran said he was happy with his team’s effort and ability to respond to some early adversity.

“The good thing about this group of girls is that we’ve been playing in bad weather since the beginning and practicing in this stuff and to me, they put it away from their minds and just play the game,” Supiran said. “That’s good to see because it shows their heart and it shows (they can respond to) adversity.”

Alpena plays at Cadillac on Thursday.