SEQUIM — On short rest having opened its season 24 hours before, the Sequim girls soccer team rebounded for a 2-1 Olympic League win over Kingston.
“To get a victory and to play as well as we did with two matches in two days, I’m really pleased,” Wolves coach Derek Vander Velde said.
Sequim struck first in the early going in Friday’s game.
“Our first goal was about five minutes in, a handball inside the box on Kingston and Abby Schroeder took the penalty kick and made it,” Vander Velde said.
Schroeder had a foot in on the Wolves’ next goal, assisting on a headed goal by Hannah Wagner in the 12th minute.
“Abby took it to the corner and crossed it and Hannah Wagner was able to get a head on it to the back of the net,” Vander Velde said. “That was a goal that I could watch over and over again. And it was nice to see Hannah get that goal. She had missed one the night before against Klahowya off of a free kick and it was good to see her be rewarded.”
Vander Velde said Sequim controlled play for much of the remainder of the match, only relinquishing a late goal in the 73rd minute before going back on the attack.
“Once we went up, we were really playing well the entire night and establishing the connections that we haven’t been able to do with less practice time,” Vander Velde said. “The fact that they were able to start to gel was awesome. And once Kingston scored their goal, we went back at them and almost got a third goal. So this win should give them confidence to move forward.”
Vander Velde said he was “super impressed with them all across the board from keeper to forward.”
Schroeder, Wagner, Taryn Johnson, Rileigh Van Dyken and Bailey Geniesse all drew praise for their play from their coach.
“Staying calm in those moments of chaos, that’s really tough, but I think the girls are doing a good job of not being part of that chaos. It’s so cool to see them playing, having fun and being competitive.”
Sequim (1-1) visits Olympic on Wednesday.
Olympic 2, Port Angeles 0
SILVERDALE — The Roughriders were rusty in their first contest of the season and fell to the Trojans despite outshooting Olympic 10-4 on the match.
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead into halftime after converting a penalty kick attempt and added to their advantage on a 20-yard shot that found the net in the 52nd minute.
The Riders had their chances as senior Hannah Reetz hit the crossbar with a shot in the third minute and chased the Trojans for much of the final 15 minutes.
“We were able to put lots of pressure on in the last 15 minutes, with Millie Long and freshman defender Paige Mason just missing high over the goal,” said coach Scott Moseley.
“While it was exciting to be back playing, we were all disappointed at the result. We were clearly rusty.”
Port Angeles was unable to practice for four days due to snowy conditions over the last week.
Central defenders Teagan Clark and Eve Burke were Moseley’s players of the game.
“This was the first game that Eve and Teagan had been paired in the back and they really clicked well together” said Moseley.
Moseley also praised the play of newcomers who saw their first varsity action — Izzy Felton, Jayde Gedelman, Paige Mason, Lily Sanders, Brielle Keywood and Katelyn Sheldon.
The Riders (0-1) host Klahowya (2-0) at Peninsula College at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Klahowya 8, East Jefferson 2 Olympic 4, East Jefferson 0
BREMERTON — Playing two games in two nights, East Jefferson fell to a 2-0 Olympic team 4-0 Friday night.
“I thought overall we played a good game. 4-0 doesn’t reflect how we played,” said coach Robert Cantley. “With fresh legs, we would’ve had a better game against them.”
Cantley said freshman Iris Mattern played a good game at the midfield in her first varsity contest and Isabel McCracken also played well controlling the ball.
On Thursday, East Jefferson scrapped with the Eagles for much of the first half before Klahowya pulled away late.
“We had a good first half and trailed 4-2 at halftime,” Cantley said. “Even though Klahowya had the majority of possession, I felt we were competing well enough, especially the last 10 minutes.”
Freshman Ava Shifflet scored both goals for East Jefferson.
“I don’t know if Ava is even five feet tall,” Cantley said. “She’s a tenacious, tiny little athlete with a tremendous amount of speed. She had to work really hard chasing those balls down and getting into position to score.”
Cantley has coached Port Townsend for the past two years and said this is the first time in many seasons he can remember scoring twice against the Eagles, a top tier Class 1A team.
“I can’t ever remember scoring a pair of goals against Klahowya, so that was pleasing to see,” Cantley said.
East Jefferson (0-2) visits Kingston on Tuesday.
Sports editor Pierre LaBossiere contributed to this report.
Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group Sequim defender Amara Sayer, right, and Kingston’s Kylee Walker vie for the ball on the SHS half of the field in the first half of a 2-1 win over Kingston on Feb. 18.
