RIVERSIDE — Riverside Poly’s girls soccer team was a step slow on Friday night, and it kept the Bears from taking a leap forward this season.

Three top-shelf goals in the second half from Portola ended Poly’s season with a 3-1 loss in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.

“We had to close down their shooters and it seemed like, tonight, from the very beginning we were on the back foot,” Poly coach Josh Nash said. “In all aspects of our game we were a second off, a step slow.”

Angelina Stedman scored in the final five minutes, but it wasn’t enough as Poly (17-6-5) lost at home for the first time this season.

“We always close people down. That’s been our game all season,” Nash said. “We’ve been very good at that and tonight we didn’t do that.”

The Bears, back-to-back Ivy League champions, qualified for the playoffs last season but lost in the first round. This season, a first-round victory over Oak Hills on Tuesday marked the first postseason win for Nash with the program.

“We worked really, really hard in our last game against Oak Hills, and tonight it comes down to putting away an early chance in the game that maybe changes momentum,” Nash said.

Poly applied its physicality in the first half against Portola but there was little to show for it, with Addison Zyber spinning a defender and unleashing her only shot on goal of the match, a low liner caught by goalkeeper Hannah Karabian.

Portola’s Xasive Espinosa hit the back post with a shot as the Bulldogs got close to scoring near halftime, but a goalkeeper switch by Poly in the second half opened up an opportunity.

“We didn’t handle the early pressure well and it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game,” Stringer said.

Portola (15-2-2) opened the second half by taking shots but it was a turnover by Poly near the top of the penalty area that turned into the first goal as Emma Song fired over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Frida Glass the lead.

Less than four minutes later, another Poly turnover led to another attempt on goal as Lorel Stringer put her laces through a ball that dipped under the cross bar for a 2-0 advantage.

“Two shots from outside, almost 25 or 28 yards out, and they were just moments when you can see the player win the ball and give it their best shot to get the ball on target with power,” Stringer said.

Poly pressured its way to a goal in the 76th minute, with Stedman scoring past Karabian to make it 2-1, but Portola’s Jenna Verplancke added an insurance goal less than two minutes later to send the Bulldogs on to the quarterfinals next week.