Caesar RodneyÕs Megan Rigsby (left) and teammate Laynee Ford racing Ashlee Brentlinger to the ball in match at the new DE Turf sports complex in Frederica Monday night. (Special to Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

FREDERICA — Less than 10 minutes into the game, Caesar Rodney High was already fighting out of a big hole.

The Riders allowed two goals in the first seven minutes and eventually fell to Padua Academy 6-1 in a nonconference girls’ soccer contest Monday night at the new DE Turf sports complex.

The Pandas, the defending Division I state champions, quickly went up 2-0 behind goals from Anne Brush and Emilia Ryjewski.

“It was a backbreaker,” said CR coach Darrell Gravatt. “It’s hard enough to play against a team like them but when you give up two in the first 10, it’s going to be a long game.”

Ryjewski ended the game with four goals and Brush had two.

Jessie Prillaman had the lone goal for the Riders who dropped their first game of the season. Caesar Rodney had outscored its opponents 28-3 through its first four games entering Monday night.

“As always we knew Padua was going to be tough,” Gravatt said. “We can’t give up six goals and expect to win. We have to tighten our backline for sure.”

Prillaman scored on a breakaway in the second half, calmly slotting her effort past the Padua goalie to make it a 3-1 game. But Ryjewski responded with her third goal of the game four minutes later.

Prillaman looked to have also earned a penalty kick in the first half when Padua was on top 2-0 as she was tripped in the box running for a lose ball. But the shouts from the CR bench for a penalty went unanswered from the referee.

“Jessie was awesome,” Gravatt said. “I thought she got fouled in the first half but somehow that did not get called. I think it took three or four Padua defenders to slow her down tonight.”

“We knew their forwards would give us problems,” said Padua coach Joe Brown. “CR is our rival and those guys do a great job. The kids all know each other and there are no secrets.”

This was the first time CR played at the turf complex in Frederica. It opened on Saturday with a tripleheader of girls’ soccer games, which Padua also played in.

Padua’s Brown is the complex’s director of soccer.

“I think for Delaware this is just a gift,” Brown said. “We finally have a place we can showcase. My job as director of soccer here is to get as many kids out here as possibly playing. And it’s not just for soccer. It’s for field hockey and lacrosse. It’s for the development of our youth to have a great environment to become better student athletes.”