PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles poached a second consecutive rivalry victory away from Sequim, earning a 1-0 boys soccer win Saturday at Civic Field.
The previous Saturday, the Roughriders put together some last-minute magic to rally for a 2-1 win over the Wolves.
This time Port Angeles didn’t wait nearly as long to take the lead.
The Roughriders scored the game’s lone goal in the 11th minute when sophomore Jesse Salgado stepped up after his first attempt was blocked and sent home a loose ball just past Sequim goalkeeper Austin Wagner.
Tim Schneider started the push forward for Port Angeles and looked ready to strike for goal when he lost possession in the box.
Early score
Enter Salgado, who found himself in the right place at the right time.
“I don’t really know what happened before, but I shot it and I saw one of their defenders slide tackle, so I just shot it again as quick as I could to the bottom right corner,” Salgado said.
“I was trying to stay central in case something like that did happen, and luckily I was there at the right time and I just hustled my way through it and got the shot off.
“You always have to be on your toes, especially against Sequim. They like to regain possession as fast as possible.”
The goal held up for the Riders despite the Wolves’ advantages in both possession and shots on goal.
Sequim coach Dave Brasher had the shot tally at 25-6 in favor of the Wolves.
“We played some beautiful soccer, which was really nice to see,” Brasher said.
“I try to tell them: just play good soccer and the results will come.
“Today, we had one go right off the crossbar and a few go over the bar.
“I think we had 70 percent possession on the ball, they just got the early goal on us and held on.”
Initially, the Wolves were content with sending long, probing shots in on Port Angeles freshman goalie Keenan Leslie, and Leslie handled these attempts without much trouble, or let them go wide of the goal.
Port Angeles (1-1, 4-1) had an opportunity to add to its lead in the 31st minute when Schneider slotted a good pass through the back of the Sequim defense and on to Miki Andrus.
Andrus had an onrushing Wagner beat, but his attempt clanged hard off the right post.
Andrus followed up with a breakaway moments later, but Wagner came on again to remove the angle and gather up the save.
The Wolves’ (1-2, 2-3-1) best chance of the game came just before halftime.
Cameron Chase brought down a cross in midfield just outside the goal box and sent a well-struck shot that bounced hard off the middle of the crossbar.
Sequim also had two promising opportunities go awry early in the second half.
Three minutes in, Liam Harris charged through the Riders’ midfield and sent a well-timed pass through the defense and on to teammate J.T. McElhose who was charging up the left side.
McElhose sent the ball toward the upper left post, but Leslie was there to save the attempt.
Two minutes later, Eli Berg pushed through the Port Angeles defense and again found an oncoming McElhose on the left side.
This time, McElhose’s shot went wide right and away from danger.
Sequim had a couple more chances in the waning moments but came away empty.
“They are disappointed, mainly because it’s PA, but they played great,” Brasher said of his team.
An Adrian Espinoza free kick went straight to Leslie in the 70th minute, and a left-to-right shot from Chase was gathered up by Leslie in the 78th minute.
“There was definitely some sketchy parts,” Salgado said of trying to play with the lead.
“Our defense wasn’t at its best today, and midfield, we weren’t the best. We were [without] one of our star midfielders [Angel Rivero].
“But I think we played them very physically, and we worked as hard as we could to get the win.”
The Riders visit Bremerton (1-1-0, 1-4-0) on Tuesday, while the Wolves host North Mason (0-1-0, 0-3-1) on Tuesday.
Port Angeles 1, Sequim 0
Sequim 0 0 — 0
Port Angeles 1 0 — 1
Scoring Summary
First Half: 1, Port Angeles, Jesse Salgado, 11th.
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
