PORT TOWNSEND — The East Jefferson girls soccer squad got a measure of revenge against Olympic this weekend with a 1-0 shutout, after losing 4-0 to the Trojans in the first week of the season.
The win pushed East Jefferson’s record to 3-3 after an 0-2 start. The only loss has been to a powerful Port Angeles team.
“I told them that it felt like it was a winnable game. They took that to heart,” said coach Robert Cantley.
Cantley said Saturday’s contest was a tough game to start with as Olympic largely controlled the action, though he said that the Trojans weren’t getting a lot of clear-cut chances at goals. The half ended 0-0. Cantley told his players to get more physical in the second half.
“The second half was a complete turnaround,” he said. Cantley said the Olympic players started getting frustrated and fouling as East Jefferson drew four yellow cards on the Trojans.
At about the 15th minute of the second half, East Jefferson was finally able to draw a free kick just outside the penalty box. Freshman Iris Mattern scored the goal directly from about 20 to 25 yards out.
“Iris just buried her free kick,” Cantley said.
East Jefferson was able to hold on without too much pressure from Olympic, he said. Keeper Katie Clark picked up the shutout in goal. Cantley also said Sorina Johnston deserves a lot of credit anchoring the defense, but said all of the players deserved credit for the win.
Cantley said he would love the Chimacum and Port Townsend squads to be able to continue to play together after this season. The young squads — there are 10 sophomores and freshmen on the roster — were brought together as the schools tried to cobble together seasons in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a young team. I feel really good about the program,” Cantley said.
East Jefferson plays at 6:45 p.m. today against the Port Angeles Roughriders at Wally Sigmar Field.
