POULSBO — When the last four games of the season feature three of the top teams in the league, there is no room for error.

With that in mind, the North Kitsap Vikings are well aware that to secure a decent spot in the playoffs, they must to solidify their skills and improve their communication.

Sept. 28, when the Vikings hosted the Bellarmine Lions, both fell apart.

“When you are playing teams that don’t make mistakes, if you make a mistake they are going to capitalize on it,” said NK head coach Pat Stickney. “When you play the big schools, that’s what it comes down to.”

In the first minute of the game, Jordan Rockwell nailed the first Lions goal, en route to a hattrick. Bellarmine’s offense utilized the same strategy that Stadium used to score against the Vikings one week earlier by opening a seam in the middle of the NK defense.

Five minutes later, Rockwell and the Lions offense used the same strategy to net their second goal.

Even after NK’s defense shored up its sieve-like defense, the Lions added another goal, capitalizing on an NK mistake in the 22nd minute. Bellarmine ended the half leading 3-0.

“Two of the goals in the game were legitimate scores,” Stickney said. “The other three were totally preventable.”

Stickney said two goals, for which North’s defense combined sub-par first touches with a lackadaisical reactions, led to Bellarmine goals.

Rockwell picked up her hattrick in the 49th minute, and Bellarmine scored again in the 55th before Stephanie Skelly scored North’s only goal off of a Siara Byers assist in the 60th.

And though the Vikings are disappointed with both the loss and their effort, they are equally eager to learn from their mistakes and take on the mountain of the season that remains.

“I think attitude-wise we are as high as we can be, which is absolutely great,” said co-captain Brenna Lander. “We really need to bring it together and play our best. (Olympia) will be our biggest test to see how we’ve improved over the first half of the season.”

After matching up with one of the top teams in the Narrows League Bay Division — Stadium — and fighting back to secure a 2-2 tie, the Vikings rolled over Mount Tahoma 7-0 before facing Bellarmine.

Upcoming they will host Foss Thursday before traveling to take on the undefeated Olympia Bears Oct. 10 and hosting the 4-1 South Kitsap Wolves Oct. 12.

“We have some good soccer players, but we need to eliminate mistakes,” Stickney said, searching for what it takes to attain playoff success. “I don’t yet have a clear picture of how good we can be.”

With the Narrows League shake up, every team in the league will have admittance into the playoff, where they will compete in a bracket type format. The final five games of the season will play a role in determining where North will be in terms of seeding. Right now, the Vikings are in sixth.