PORT TOWNSEND — East Jefferson had plenty of possession and ample opportunities offensively but settled for a 2-2 tie in a Nisqually League girls soccer match against the combined Life Christian/Charles Wright squad on Thursday at Memorial Field.
We could have improved on our finishing. We did have the majority of the ball and did dominate possession. We had a number of shots going straight at the goalie, or wide or off the crossbar, but overall a good display of teamwork, passing and deffending as a unit,” coach Rob Cantley said.
Life Christian went up 1-0 in the 18th minute.
“They have a really fast girl up front and she beat us,” Cantley said. “Our defender Teri Wiley has recovery speed, but she was on the bench for a minute with an injury.”
The Rivals’ Fern French equalized minutes later.
“A bit of an unlikely goal,” Cantley said. “Defensive midfielder Fern French picked up the ball about 40 yards from goal, beat one player, I thought ‘Maybe time to pass to a teammate’ but she took on another challenge, and another challenge and then beat the goalie.”
East Jefferson went up 2-1 just before halftime.
“Rayna Pray got the goal, she made her way in front of goal and scored,” Cantley said. “She had a frustrating 20 minutes, playing well but she was a little rushed on some good opportunities. We told her to be calm and pass the ball into the corner of the goal and couldn’t be happier she was able to do just that.”
The Rivals, however, suffered a letdown to start the second half.
“They scored within a minute, we wanted to start strong and we had a breakdown,” Cantley said.
“Second half, we hit the post, their goalie made a couple of saves.”
Cantley said Wiley returned to the game and played well, freshman goalkeeper Lila Morgan played well and French showed off her versatility.
East Jefferson (1-3-1) visits South Whidbey today.
Port Angeles 7, Olympic 0
BREMERTON — The Roughriders controlled all aspects of their game against a young Trojans squad.
“Just a handful of juniors and seniors, mostly freshmen and sophomores in their lineup,” coach Dan Horton said. “We talked about wanting to start fast, playing aggresive and having a mentality of thats my ball — in the air, on the ground, at your feet. Be ball hogs and push forward and the girls did great right off the opening whistle.”
Port Angeles’ first score was the result of a connection both players would like to turn into a habit.
“Second minute we earned a corner kick and Pyper Alton sent in a beautiful ball and Becca Manson was there to head it into the net,” Horton said. “Pyper really prides herself on her corner kicks and Becca has been working hard on her finishes, nice to see her get one.”
Morgan Politika notched her first goal of the season in the 7th assisted by Mariah Traband.
Politika would return the favor in the 15th, passing to Emma Desjardins for the first of her two scores.
A Politika throw-in resulted in a Teanna Clark goal in the 20th minute.
Desjardins and Traband then played give and go to each other, Desjardins scoring in the 43rd and Traband finding the net in the 54th.
Lily Lancaster added the final Riders’ goal assisted by Juliana Long.
Kennedy Rognlien made two saves in goal, including saving a penalty kick, to preserve the shutout.
Port Angeles (2-1-0, 4-1-0) hosts rival Sequim on Thursday.
Bainbridge 2, Sequim 0
BAINBRIDGE — The Wolves challenged the defending Olympic League champ Spartans in a tight loss Thursday.
“We went toe-to-toe with one of the top programs in the state, and our players showed exactly who they are: resilient, relentless and absolutely fearless,” assistant coach Vianey Cardenas said.
“We’ve known that Bainbridge is a powerhouse. They thrive in the wide channels, play fast, and punish teams that can’t keep up. But our team didn’t back down. We came in with a clear game plan, to cut off their wide play and disrupt their rhythm and the girls executed it with incredible discipline and heart. Going into halftime 0-0, holding them to just two shots, that’s not something many teams can say they’ve done against Bainbridge.”
The Spartans did score off an early corner kick, but Cardenas said Sequim was still up to the task.
“Our energy never dropped,” she said. Our girls were composed, gritty, and battling for every single ball. We stayed in it until the final whistle, and while the scoreline doesn’t show a win, our performance was exemplary of winners.
Cardenas said the team’s wingers; Kiley Winter, Lily Sparks, Adalie Eastburn and Kayia Robinson “hustled and did well in shutting down their outside midfielders and really helped us defensively.”
“Freshman Brooklyn Schmidt really shined for us last night; she’s been a rock on the back line and didn’t shy away from the challenge of facing a highly skilled Bainbridge squad,” Cardenas said. “Her composure and toughness set the tone for us defensively.”
Sequim (1-2-0, 1-3-0) hosts Olympic on Tuesday.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladaily news.com.
