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GREENSBORO — Six matches into the season, Grimsley soccer coach Matt Martineau could tell he had the puzzle pieces but was still trying to find the fit. The Whirlies were 3-2-1, but with nine seniors, Martineau could feel there was another gear they hadn't quite reached.

"We're trying to figure out who we are," he would tell his team. "It's going to take a few games."

Weeks of roster tinkering finally produced a unit that notched a huge 2-1 road win at East Forsyth on Sept. 9, and the Whirlies have lost only twice in 13 matches since. They host East Forsyth again at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the 4-A playoffs.

"It was a learning curve for me figuring out where these kids best fit together," he said. "Once we put that together, we've really hit our stride."

Grimsley's only two defeats the last seven weeks came to undefeated Page, the second a 2-1 decision in which the Whirlies were up 1-0 at the half but fell apart when midfielder Nate Stephens, who scored the game-winner with two minutes left against East Forsyth, went down with a concussion. Stephens is back, one of four third-year contributors on the team along with fellow captains Josh Katz, Aniekan Udoka and Kevin Wilson.

That group played a key role in Grimsley's run to the 4-A state championship game in 2007, but endured a 9-9-1 record and first-round playoff exit last year.

That wouldn't be considered a down year by most programs' standards, but then Grimsley is not most programs.

"Coming off all that excitement two years ago, there was obviously an expectation of success," Martineau said. "I just don't think that their mentality was in the right place. They didn't want to work for it. They just expected success to come."

Martineau said he could tell things could be different when voluntary summer workouts began in July and nearly all the Whirlie seniors turned out to lift weights and play pick-up.

"Last year, we did not have any of that. If I had one senior come, that was shocking," Martineau said. "This group enjoys the game that much that it didn't seem like work for them. It seemed like play."

They'll still have their hands full tonight against East, which is winless in its last three matches but still finished 8-3-1 and took third in the ultra-competitive Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference. The Whirlies lost 2-1 to Mallard Creek in last year's first round, an inglorious end for a team with three players now competing collegiately.

"If I was playing," Martineau said, "I wouldn't want to go through that again."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com