Nashua North's Sarah Frye heads the ball toward the goal during a corner kick in Thursday's 2-0 win over Windham at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – One sign of a good team is the ability to bounce back from a tough loss.

That’s exactly what the Nashua High School girls soccer team did on Thursday afternoon at Stellos Stadium.

The Titans put a tough two-goal loss earlier this week at Portsmouth behind them and took care of business, blanking Windham 2-0.

“The first half was rough against Portsmouth but we dominated in the second half,” Titans coach Jacqueline Thompson said. “We figured momentum would carry into this game. … Like I told the girls, in order to prepare to be a successful team throughout the season, you need to have a win, a loss, a tie, and know how to come back from being down. That’s what we’ve been working on and that’s exactly what they’re learning.”

North got its offense from the Frye twins. Sarah Frye chipped the ball ahead to Alli Frye who broke in alone and beat Windham keeper Harley Neal for a 1-0 lead midway through the first half.

The Titans didn’t get the clincher, however, until Sarah Frye boomed a ball just under the cross bar, just out of Neal’s reach, from about 30 yards out with just under 10 minutes to go. It couldn’t have been placed any better.

“That’s her sweet spot,” Thompson said. “Anything outside that 20 is hers.”

The Jaguars, who certainly came in with some pedigree after playing the two finalists from last year to start, a scoreless tie with Winnacunnet and a 2-1 loss to Pinkerton.

But against another Final Four team yesterday, they couldn’t muster a sustained offensive attack. Was that because they had to use extra resources to defend the Fryes?

“We weren’t trying to double team or anything,” Jags coach George Fortin said. “We were trying to just take care of who our marking responsibilities were. We were missing it a lot in the middle of the field.

“We weren’t at our best today. We were sloppy with the ball. … We turned it over too much. They (North) had a great game, they played very, very well.”

And this is where the Titan defense comes in. Keeper Kathleen Schreiner (four saves) grabbed a free kick with 13:35 left, and that represented Windham’s best chance.

“She’s really good at being big in the net,” Thompson said of her keeper in her first varsity year. “She really believes in herself.”

North’s defense would bend a couple of times,but never broke.

Rosalie Clark, Thompson said, is showing leadership at center back as a sophomore, and freshman Abby Azevado has really developed playing with her older sister, Kathryn on the back line. The Titans have sisters on the back, and on the front, and they all played well yesterday.

Alli Frye tries to maneuver at midfield for Nashua North during the second half of Thursday’s Division I game vs. Windham. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Thompson is using every game as a learning experience for this group,which she hopes prepares them for perhaps more soccer in November. It’s a young team, there’s not enough numbers for a JV team, so Motta Field and other spots are their classroom.

“That the experience you’ve got to get,” their coach said, “and you’ve got to use every game, every opponent as a lesson learned. As long as you can stay focused, driven and positive on those lessons, then we can be successful.”