For Ellie Crowell, there are moments from a four-game stretch in the middle of September that seem to all run together. Bad bounces, balls just missing the crossbar, four close scores without a Minnetonka victory.

"Just those kind of games," she said, frustration in her voice.

The Skippers have proven they're a team with talent and promise. Despite having a young roster, Minnetonka started the season 5-0 with three shutouts, and the team reached the Star Tribune Class 2A top 10.

But many of the players look at the 6-2-3 record now and see a reminder that they could be so much better and are trying to harness that as inspiration to pull out of the mid-season rut they've found themselves in. After the undefeated start, the Skippers tied two games and then lost two one-goal matches, to No. 1 Wayzata and Edina, and fell out of the rankings again.

"I think we came out with a lot of energy right at first," Crowell said. "It was kind of the thrill of the new season. And then we came into the Wayzata game, and it just kind of went downhill."

Crowell said the team's signature energy, which had carried it through to that point, started to slump. The team started making sloppy mistakes, missing passes and shots and failing to convert the winning goal in three consecutive overtime games, losing to Wayzata and netting ties with Hopkins and Eden Prairie.

"I think the biggest thing is just for the team and the girls to realize that a bounce here or there is going to change the complexity of the game," coach Jeff Hopkins said. "We just need to be able to make sure that our focus and intensity is there every time, because if not, you can be punished in the way of giving up a goal or not getting the result you want."

Still, the Skippers are boosted by knowing they haven't come close to hitting their stride. Crowell has scored five goals and added nine assists, but the Skippers will tell you she hasn't even gotten started.

"We have not seen the best of Ellie Crowell yet," teammate Taylor Morgan said. "She's obviously our main player. She's just amazing, and when she gets fired up, there's no stopping her."

Three of her five goals have come in the past three games before Tuesday's match against Wayzata. Crowell said things are finally coming together for her.

"I don't know why it's taking me this long," she said. "I can definitely play better, but I think I'm getting there."

Additionally, a few of the younger players that the team has come to rely on for goals -- including freshmen Alli Bakken and Maggie Crist -- are still getting adjusted to playing on a varsity team.

"It is encouraging in many aspects because we've thought that even on our worst days, we've been able to keep up with these good teams, even the best in the state," Morgan said.

"We definitely have a bad taste in our mouths right now, and we're definitely looking forward to giving [teams] a run for their money and showing that we are a good team and that we can compete."