PORT ANGELES — A Sequim home game at Civic Field?
Believe it or not, that’s exactly what Wolves boys soccer coach Dave Brasher wanted for tonight’s Class 2A West Central District loser-out playoff against Washington.
Sequim’s pitch has been beaten down into a bumpy, patchy mess this spring thanks to a full slate of home matches and a handful of semipro football games.
With Port Angeles’ Civic Field, the Wolves (10-5 overall) will get a field that highlights its strengths, according to Brasher.
“It’s a lot wider than our field, so it plays into the style of play that we use,” he said. “We’re able to pass wide and use the width of the field more.
“We like playing in Port Angeles . . . we haven’t lost there in a while.”
All joking aside, if Sequim hopes to survive today’s game, it better play more like the team that won 2-1 in Port Angeles near the start of the season and less like the one that lost 1-0 to the Roughriders at home in late April.
Up-and-down performances have been somewhat of a trademark for Sequim this season.
The Wolves appeared to be world beaters during a 6-1 start to the season that included four shutouts
But they then suffered through an 0-3 patch before closing out the regular season on a 4-1 spurt.
Finding a way to channel a consistent effort from all 11 players on the field will be the difference between a long postseason run or an early exit, according to Brasher.
Still, Brasher thinks this year’s team has the potential to be just as good as last year’s 2A state participant.
“We’ve played some better soccer this year than we did all of last year,” Brasher said. “It’s just getting consistent performances from everybody.
“If we do that, we can go fairly deep.”
Sequim got a surprise contribution from three-sport star John Textor this season.
The senior began the year as a goalkeeper only to slide into the midfield as the season went along and eventually finish as the team’ leading goal scorer.
He led a group of 14 different scorers with six on the season.
Nick Camporini and Daniel Servin each had five goals for the Wolves, with Servin also adding a team-high eight assists.
“The key for us is we need to get that first goal early and then our whole psyche changes,” Brasher said.
“The longer we go just hanging around with teams, a goal by the other team just crushes us.”
Washington is the No. 3 seed out of the 2A Nisqually League, having played the top-seeded Steilacoom Sentinels (14-2) tough in a pair of losses.
A Sequim win would set up a winner-to-state, loser-out showdown with Steilacoom at Franklin Pierce Stadium in Tacoma on Saturday.
More playoffs
• Sequim boys soccer isn’t the only Peninsula team with a lot to play for today.
The Forks boys soccer team will face a familiar foe, Montesano, with a 1A state tournament berth on the line in Kalama.
Both teams lost its first round 1A Southwest Washington district match Tuesday, forcing the two to play today for all the marbles.
Montesano (10-5-1) has beaten the Spartans (7-9) all three times the two teams have met this season.
• Sequim softball has a critical 2A district seeding game against North Mason today in Kingston.
While it isn’t do-or-die for either team, it’s definitely do-or-do-more.
The two teams split their games this season, with the Wolves (15-1, 18-2) winning in Belfair and the Bulldogs (15-1, 16-1) in Sequim.
The loser of today’s game will be the Olympic League’s two seed at districts, while the winner gets the top seed.
The difference: The No. 2 is placed in a loser-out game right off the bat, while the No. 1 gets a bye into the double-elimination bracket.
