ENUMCLAW — The Port Angeles girls soccer team, with only three seniors and two juniors, is off to the state 2A tournament after beating Enumclaw 4-2 in penalty kicks Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Sequim girls beat Sammamish 3-2 in the second overtime to finish third in the tournament as the Olympic League is sending three teams to the 16-team state tournament. North Kitsap also qualified as the No. 2 team out of the bidistrict tournament.
The Roughriders as a relatively low seed had to win three straight games at district to make it to state. They beat Renton 2-0, Highline 2-1 and finally Enumclaw 1-0 (4-2 PKs). The hero of the game was goalkeeper Kennedy Rognlien, who made two diving stops in the penalty kicks after making several “crucial saves” during the game, said coach Daniel Horton.
Kedryn DeScala (5) sends the ball downfield during first half of action against Enumclaw on Saturday. (Kevin Hanson)
“We were excited to have her make one stop, then she said ‘I’ll do you one better’,” Horton said. “They were both, amazing, fantastic saves that took the pressure off our shooters.”
Scoring penalty kicks for Port Angeles were Becca Manson, Kedryn DeScala, Paige Mason and Izzy Felton.
Enumclaw is a high-powered team offensively that scored nine goals in a district playoff win over Franklin Pierce and more than 70 goals on the season, but Rognlien and the Riders’ defense were able to shut the Hornets down.
Horton said a lot of people might have overlooked the Riders this season because of their young roster. But he said when the weight room was opened this summer, there were 15 to 16 girls in there every day working out and he knew these players were serious about the upcoming season.
Port Angeles (11-6) was seeded No. 16 and will begin its run at state by playing No. 1 West Valley of Spokane (17-0) either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sequim 3, Sammamish 2
SAMMAMISH — The Sequim girls soccer team got a monster game from Raimey Brewer to fend off Sammamish for the third-place bidistrict tournament trophy.
Brewer had a role in all three Sequim goals, all coming on set pieces. After Sammamish took a 1-0 lead into the half, the Wolves got a goal by Kiley Winter on a Brewer corner kick to knot the score at 1-1. Brewer hit another corner kick that was headed in by Taryn Johnson to make it 2-1.
“Raimey does a great job of putting the ball in dangerous areas,” said coach Ken Garling.
Sammamish scored in the 64th minute to make it 2-2. The game remained tied through regulation and the first overtime. About two minutes into the second overtime, Sequim was able to draw a penalty just outside the box, giving the Wolves a close free kick. Brewer again took the kick, hitting a “nice looping” shot, Garland said, into the net to give Sequim the win.
Sequim (13-4) was seeded No. 10 and will play on the road at No. 7 Ridgefield (16-3) on Tuesday or Wednesday.
