PORT ANGELES — When the invitation came to sit with the upperclassmen in the back of the bus on a road trip, Port Angeles freshmen Catie Brown and Bailee Larson knew they had been completely accepted by their Roughrider teammates.
One of the team’s biggest question marks heading into the season was how a number of freshman players would fit into and contribute toward the success of a Port Angeles girls soccer team coming off a state quarterfinal appearance last fall.
“During our spring practices back in June, I was kind of like, I don’t know,” Riders junior Delaney Wenzl said when asked her first impressions of the new players.
“They were good, but they weren’t confident. Since then they’ve grown so much. In June they would just talk to each other and not really interact with the upperclassmen, and that’s understandable. But it also kind of messed with their games in a way — they didn’t know that if we are yelling on the field it’s not meant to hurt anyone, it’s because we are in the moment and they didn’t know who to pass to. It was little stuff because they weren’t quite comfortable with everyone.”
With Port Angeles needing to win one more game in the district tournament to reach state for the third straight season (entering Tuesday’s late game against Fife), the Riders know what they have in their four freshman contributors.
Larson and Brown play up top at forward, wear the numbers 1 and 2, and can be hard to distinguish from the other when out on the field.
Their stats are similar as well. Brown has four goals and an assist this season, two of her scores holding up as game-winning strikes in 1-0 wins over North Mason and Bremerton.
Brown said there were some tense moments in early training sessions.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking,” Brown said.
“They are so much older and more confident with the ball. We didn’t want to start conversations with them, we were scared and a little intimidated.”
With a regular-season in the rear-view mirror, Brown said her game has grown this fall.
“I think I improved on my dribbling and being more confident with it,” Brown said.
Larson also has four goals and is third on the Riders in assists with five. Larson scored an important goal in a win over Klahowya and had an assist in Port Angeles’ win over Olympic earlier this season.
Distributing the ball has been a focus for Larson this season.
“Dribbing with the ball, making good passes and learning a lot of new skills this year,” she said.
The pair has earned the trust of their teammates, Wenzl included.
“Catie and Bailee up top, I trust them because they are both fast, they can both take the shots and they have been willing to be physical,” Wenzl said. “Catie went head-to-head with North Mason’s star goalie and Bailee went up for the ball and ended up with a concussion. They haven’t been afraid to take those risks. As a freshman it can be scary but they’ve adjusted.”
Mia Gagnon has cleaned up in the midfield for the Riders with a freshman-high mark of five goals (third overall on the team) and an assist. Gagnon scored the game tying goal in a 4-3 win over Klahowya as well.
“They’ve had a great season,” Port Angeles coach Scott Moseley said of the freshmen. “They’ve had a really big impact offensively, and defensively Teagen [Clark] starting at right back has also done really well.”
Clark earned a starting spot in the Riders’ back line defensively early on and has stayed in the lineup ever since.
“I respect her a lot because it can be stressful enough just being on the offensive line and being entrusted to score goals,” Wenzl said of Clark. “But defense is an even more crucial part of the game. That’s what wins the game. So to be a freshman starting on the back line is a pretty high-risk spot.”
Almost as much as getting that invite to the back of the bus.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Port Angeles freshman Bailee Larson dribbles the ball during a game against Kingston earlier this season.
