PORT ANGELES — Things looked good for the Port Angeles boys soccer team in the first half Tuesday night, as the Roughriders, despite barely having possession of the ball all half, carried a 2-0 lead over Highline into the break in their district playoff opener.
But Highline finally started taking advantage of that possession skill, as well as its speed and ball-handling, to crack the Riders’ defense in the second half, erupting for four goals en route to a 4-2 win.
The loss ended Port Angeles’ season with a 9-8 overall record and a third-place finish in the Olympic League.
Port Angeles also had chances, counter-striking effectively against the Pirates in that first half. In addition to the two goals, the Riders had one goal reversed due to an offsides call and several other near-goals.
Port Angeles head coach Chris Saari said if the Riders could have put away more of those chances, Highline might not have had the spark to come back in the second half.
Saari said this year’s experienced team with 11 seniors battled injuries all season.
“It was a good group as far as chemistry. Everyone chipped in. I think the injuries just caught up to us,” he said. “Some of our midfielders could barely moved tonight.
“When it ends, it hurts. For 2½ months, it’s your life. And now it’s done,” Saari said.
Game play
Highline immediately dominated the possession, keeping the ball down in Port Angeles’ end for most of the match. Nonetheless, the Pirates really didn’t get that many scoring chances in the first half as the Roughriders’ defenders did an effective job blocking shots and knocking the ball away.
The Riders, meanwhile, scored in quick strikes with Kaleb Gagnon picking up a goal in just the third minute. In the 13th minute, Matthew Miller crossed the ball to Keane McClain for an apparent goal, but after a long officials’ conference, they finally ruled it was offsides.
McClain had another near-goal on a pretty header over the crossbar on a corner kick a few minutes later. Miller just missed on a shot that went high in the 34th minute. The Riders were that close to being up 3-0 or 4-0 as Highline was completely back on its heels in the first half.
Miller finally did get a second score in the 38th minute when he made a nifty move to get around a couple of defenders and kicked in a point-blank shot from a sharp angle that found the far post.
The momentum seemed to change when a hand ball got called on Port Angeles in the 47th minute in the penalty area. Highline converted the penalty kick to make it 2-1.
From that point on, the Pirates were able to finally pepper the Port Angeles goal with shots.
Highline’s Emerson Carranza Ochoa used some lightning speed to cause problems for the Riders, scoring in the 55th minute to make it 2-2. Highline scored again in the 64th minute and then Carranza Ochoa picked up a hat trick [he kicked the penalty kick] with his third goal in the 77th minute.
Saari named Matthew Miller his offensive player of the match and goalkeeper Liam McBride his defensive player of the match. He named Gagnon and Josiah Long his transition players of the match.
The Riders will lose 11 total seniors, seven of them starters — Zak Alton, Maxwell Baeder, Landon Close, Eli Fischer, Joe Hill, Long, McClain, Jacob Miller, Hannes Spieker, Caim Valles and Caden White.
The team’s leading scorer, Matthew Miller, is back next year as a sophomore, and Saari said some good eighth-graders are coming up next season.
Port Angeles’ Kaleb Gagnon, center, pushes past Highline’s Alturo Palomino-Guiterrez, right, as teamates Zak Alton, back, and Hannes Spieker follow from the backfield during Tuesday’s playoff game at Wally Sigmar Field in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Port Angeles’ Caleb Gagnon, center, is congratulated by teammates Hannes Speiker, left, and Josiah Long, right, after Gagnon scored a first-half goal against Highline on Tuesday at Peninsula College. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
