Sun midfielder Sandrine Gaillard dribbles the ball during Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Sporting Jax in Tampa. “Sandrine was the best player in the first half,” Sun coach Denise Schilte-Brown said, “and played exceptionally well.”From the start, the conditions shaped the game, and Sporting Jax adjusted faster.Playing in a torrential downpour, the Sun fell behind by two goals in the first half and saw their seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end with a 3-0 loss Saturday night at Suncrest Credit Union Field in downtown Tampa.Baylee DeSmit put second-place Sporting Jax (6-3-3) ahead in the 33rd minute, and Sophia Boman doubled the Jacksonville-based club’s lead just five minutes later.Sun coach Denise Schilte-Brown said the pouring rain was no excuse for her team’s performance.“We were well aware of the weather going into the game,” Schilte-Brown said. “You try not to take risks in your defensive third when the conditions are going to impact how quickly the ball moves. It took us a little bit longer to understand that in the first half.”Even with the two-goal deficit, Schilte-Brown said the Sun (1-4-7) weren’t out of the match in the second half.“Two-nothing is not bad. There was lots of time left,” she said. “Let’s be honest, we were wasteful with our chances — but we created six or seven. That’s the difference: They capitalized on theirs, and ours were wasteful moments.”The Sun pushed in the second half but were unable to score. Sporting Jax put the match away late when Paige Kenton headed in a Meg Hughes crossing pass at the 74-minute mark.“A game changes with one goal,” Schilte-Brown added. “If we had put away our chances, you’d feel this was a good, competitive game.”Still, she praised her team’s defensive effort.“Defending is typically how you do it together, with your line, your compactness, your tightness in the middle. Once you go down a goal, you take risks. Then you go down two and take more. I actually think the defending was great.”Schilte-Brown complimented the play of midfielder Sandrine Gaillard.“Sandrine was the best player in the first half,” the coach said, “and played exceptionally well.”Gaillard said she appreciated her coach’s words, but “it’s a team sport.”“(Saturday) was tough with the timing, the positioning, the movement. That’s where you saw the difference between us and Jacksonville. The weather was for both teams. There’s no excuses.”Despite the setback, Gaillard said she can see the Sun’s upward trajectory.“Every step we take, we improve,” she said. “We are better and better, but we just need to score more goals than the opponent.”Midfielder Gabby Provenzano said the team knows it is capable of more.“(The weather) is not an excuse for (Saturday),” she said. “We know we can be better. We’re going to keep fighting. We’re not going to give up. We’re going to stick together and figure this out.”Sun up nextvs. Brooklyn, 7:30 Saturday, Suncoast Credit Union Field Streaming: Peacock