From a 3-0 start to a 4-4-1 mark. Six wins in eight games followed by a loss and two draws.

Providence’s boys soccer season has been quite the rollercoaster, with glorious highs and deflating lows.

Unfortunately, the Celtics are still riding a low right now. And with the regular season almost over, they’ll be hoping the high is right around the corner.

The Celtics hosted Timothy Christian under the lights Wednesday. While the Trojans were lights-out, the Celtics failed to elevate their ride, falling to Timothy Christian 2-0.

The loss gives Providence (10-7-4) two losses and two draws in its past four contests. With only a regular-season finale against Coal City on Friday still to go before the playoffs, the Celtics are running out of time to get back to playing like they did in that previous stretch of six victories in eight matches.

“The last four games, we’re in a funk,” coach Mike Taylor said. “This team’s way better than that. We were missing a starting defender today and our leading scorer, but other people have to step in. We didn’t come with the same energy (Timothy Christian) did.”

It was a challenging night all around for the Celtics. Timothy Christian’s time of possession advantage seemed nearly double that of the Celtics. Providence managed four shots on goal, while the Trojans finished with 11.

Timothy Christian nearly had two additional goals in the second half. Andrew Lumkes seemed to score on a breakaway 10 minutes into the second period, but was called offsides. A loose ball appeared to cross over just past the Celtics’ line shortly after that, but it was determined the ball remained in play to keep the score where it was.

The Trojans’ lead was never threatened.

“We just have to come ready to play,” Providence captain Lucas Garcia said. “We need to bring more effort, finish our goals and our opportunities. ... We need to play together and be ready from the start.”

Timothy Christian was aggressive from the onset, swarming the Celtics’ goal from the opening kick. The visitors needed less than five minutes to score, as they were awarded a PK and Zachary Baker delivered to make it 1-0.

With just under nine minutes remaining in the opening half, the Trojans increased their lead to 2-0. Freshman keeper Aleksander Chavez came out of the box to corral the ball, but Matthew Buikema managed to take an impressive side-footed shot that sailed into the net to give the Trojans a two-goal advantage.

The Celtics never surrendered. The possession was clearly in their favor the final 15 minutes of the contest, as they created a multitude of chances. They managed just one shot on goal, however, and were unable to close out the opportunities.

“The first 10 minutes of the game set the tone,” Taylor said. “They just dominated, and they never backed off after that. We’re looking around and pointing fingers at everyone else, when really we should look in the mirror and ask ourselves, ‘What have I done to win this game?’

“I want the rest of my team to play like my back three. They played their guts out the whole game and made the other team earn the goals. ... That’s what we’ve got to get back to.”

Thursday’s home contest at Coal City will give Providence one final chance to get a victory before it becomes loser goes home. Fortunately for the Celtics, they’ve already been awarded the second seed in the Hinsdale South Sectional. In the regional semifinals, they’ll play the winner of Brooks-Morgan Park on Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. at Hinsdale South.

They’re not thinking about next week yet, though. They’ve got far too much left to work on before then.

“We’ve got to get out of this funk,” Taylor said. “If we play like this, we’ll be out of the playoffs very quickly.”