ENUMCLAW — Sequim’s season-long ability to stick together in tight moments stood out as the Wolves clinched a state-tournament berth, rallying from a 3-1 deficit to send their Class 2A bidistrict tournament contest to overtime and an eventual 4-3 (4-2) triumph in penalty kicks over No. 4-seed Enumclaw.
“Absolutely, these girls do not stop, they don’t quit,” coach Ken Garling said. “They can score goals in bunches, and that’s what happened last night. They were very satisfied. When they realized this is what we set out to accomplish and to do it in such a dramatic fashion it was a big celebration.”
Sequim goalkeeper Kalli Grove made two penalty kick saves in the shootout and the Wolves’ Taryn Johnson, Jenny Gomez, Olive Bridge and Kaia Lestage all buried their penalty kicks as the Wolves advanced to a district semifinal contest with No. 1 seed Fife (18-0-0) tonight at 6 p.m. at Fife.
No. 5-seeded Sequim (12-3-0) went up 1-0 when Taryn Johnson booted in a goal from deep, about 35 yards out according to Garling.
Enumclaw took advantage of a Sequim defensive miscue to tie it up at 1-1 at halftime.
The Hornets then converted on a penalty kick when the Wolves were whistled for a handball in the goal box and found the net once more in the 63rd minute to go up 3-1.
“We knew we needed something to turn the tide and get back into the game,” Garling said.
“We made some adjustments in midfield and started playing a more direct style. We were able to open things up a bit and attack from the sides.”
Johnson made it 3-2 in the 72nd off a crossing pass from Eve Breithaupt.
Gomez scored just minutes later.
“She made a half turn about 20 yards out and made a beautiful shot to the upper-90,” Garling said.
“So the momentum had totally shifted and we went through the overtimes tied up.”
Garling said his team continually works on penalty kick situations in practice.
“Penalty kicks, we always are working on them and continue to work on them,” Garling said. “Our girls were confident and we made them all.
“And Kalli Grove comes in and makes two incredible saves in goal. She’s been reading them well all season long and she came up huge again.”
“It was a great team win. We celebrated that and it gets us to our next opponent, Fife, another big-time opponent on the road.”
The Fife game is 6 p.m. today. Sequim is also assured of playing another contest Saturday, either for the district title or third place. Fife is 18-0-0 and ranked No. 1 in the tournament.
The Wolves will find out their state tournament seed, opponent and date of their state tournament opener likely on Sunday. It will be the third trip to state in school history for the Wolves after trips in 2018 and 2019.
