PORT ANGELES — The Sequim boys soccer team kept coming up empty chance after chance.
It took a golden opportunity for the Wolves (9-7-0 overall) to keep their state hopes alive.
Waylon Lam broke a scoreless tie with a golden goal in the first overtime of Wednesday’s Class 2A sub-district loser-out playoff, vaulting the Wolves to a 1-0 victory over Eatonville at rainy Sigmar Field.
“It felt really good, I finally got my goal,” Lam said of his sudden-death score (aka a golden goal).
Indeed, it took quite a while for Lam and company to finally break through against the Cruisers (5-11-0) of the 2A SPSL.
Lam and fellow striker Nick Camporini each ripped off seven shots on goal.
But it wasn’t until there were two minutes left in the first overtime that Lam finally cashed in.
Running on to a bouncing flick ahead from teammate Jerry Azanza, the junior blasted a low line drive with his left foot from the upper left corner of the penalty box.
Eatonville’s goaltender made a diving attempt to turn away the shot, Sequim’s 25th of the game, but it zipped past him and went into the left corner of the net.
Within seconds, Lam was getting mobbed by teammates, who dog-piled on top of him in a spontaneous celebration.
“I turned and I saw Waylon having that run, so I’m like, ‘I’m going to pass it to him, he’s open, he’s going to finish it,’” Azanza said.
“When I saw him put that in goal I got so excited, I just ran at him and we tackled him down.
“I don’t know how to explain that feeling.
“It’s just awesome.”
The goal puts the Wolves into a loser-out playoff against 2A Seamount No. 1 Evergreen (6-3-2) at Foster High School in Tukwila on Saturday at 1 p.m.
A win there, and Sequim clinches its third straight trip to the state playoffs and fourth in school history.
“It’s a tough road,” Sequim coach Dave Brasher said. “But the guys don’t know anything about [Evergreen]. They think they can beat anyone right now.”
If the Wolves can continue to control the ball like they did against the Cruisers — Sequim out-shot Eatonville 25-6 on the match — that just might be the case.
Of course, they’ll have to finish a little better as well.
Twice Camporini was turned away just a few yards in front of Eatonville’s goal, while Lam and Azanza also saw shots sail wide.
“I think it was some bad luck,” Azanza said. “The other team was really good, I thought, but we dominated the game.
“We had a lot of chances that we should have finished, but we finally made up for it at the end.
“That’s what matters most. A win is a win.”
Thanks to a strong showing from Sequim’s back line of Irons Ring, Elijah Sanford and Lorenzo Gonzalez, however, Eatonville struggled to get the same looks at the other end of the field.
Sequim goaltender Byron Boots had to make just four saves all night,.
His diving stop in the first half was the only one with a large degree of difficulty.
“We continued to put pressure on them and it paid off,” Brasher said.
“Waylon had some chances early that he screwed up on, but he stuck with it, stuck with it and he finally got the goal.
“He’s not a left-footed player, but he did well with his left [Wednesday].”
Sequim 1, Eatonville 0
Eatonville 0 0 0 — 0
Sequim 0 0 1 — 1
Scoring Summary
First half: No scoring.
Second Half: No scoring.
First Overtime: 1, Sequim, Lam (Azanza), 83rd minute.
