PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles picked up two crucial second-half goals against a packed-in Bremerton defense to earn a 2-0 win Thursday night at Civic Field and maintain its hold on first place in the Olympic League 2A Division girls soccer standings.
The Roughriders (9-2-0, 12-2-1) now have a shot to win the first league title in the program’s 35-year history if they can beat Olympic on senior night at Civic Field at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Thursday night, the Knights needed to win to stay in the hunt for a post-season berth and were emotionally motivated by their senior night and the retirement of their long-time coach Lance McCoy.
The Riders were able to muffle Bremerton’s energy by controlling most of the midfield through the first half, but were unable to convert any of their shots.
Port Angeles goalkeeper Madi Roening could see the issues from her end of the field.
“I think we started strong, but just couldn’t connect the passes in the offensive third of the field,” she said.
Rider coach Scott Moseley concurred. “We were winning most of the play, but our final pass was off or we dribbled too much. We will have to be much cleaner in our play as we move forward.”
Record-setting goal
As the second half moved on, the Port Angeles attack began to threaten the goal with a number of shots by Eve Burke, Delaney Wenzl and Millie Long.
Wenzl and Long combined for the first goal in the 50th minute. Wenzl placed a 40-yard free kick in front of the goal that Long settled and finished past a diving Bremerton goalie.
Wenzl barely missed 10 minutes later off of a corner kick as the Knights’ goalie made a sprawling save with her fingertips to keep the score 1-0.
Long put the game out of reach with a strike in the 70th minute, taking a Bailee Larson pass inside the box and cleanly scoring at the far post.
The junior became Port Angeles’ all-time single-season goal scorer with the pair of scores, breaking Christy Nathan’s previous high mark of 25, which had stood since 1984.
The Riders’ defense continued their strong run, tallying their ninth shutout of the season and holding Bremerton to only two shots on goal.
Opposing teams have only managed 6 goals from open play leading to a .4 goals against average.
Leading the defense, Roening, focused on the communication they have.
“On defense, we all have really good communication and lift each other up constantly. If we make a mistake, we quickly talk about it fix it on the next time around,” she said.
This was echoed by senior defender Lucah Folden. “I think one of our most valuable qualities is the trust we have in one another — and always knowing that we have each other’s backs.”
With North Kitsap’s (10-1-0, 13-1-1) victory over Olympic on Thursday night, it sets up a must-win game for Port Angeles against visiting Olympic on Tuesday night.
Sequim 2, North Mason 1
SEQUIM — The Wolves leapfrogged the Bulldogs and Bremerton and moved into third place in the Olympic League standings with a critical win Thursday.
“It jumped us from fifth to third and as long as we win against Kingston we will be the third seed,” Sequim coach Derek Vandervelde said.
The Wolves (6-5-0, 8-5-1) will visit the winless-in-league-play Buccaneers (0-11-0, 1-13-1) on Tuesday.
Hope Glasser scored both of the goals for Sequim in the win over North Mason.
Sequim led 1-0 at half and went up 2-0 quickly in the second half.
The Bulldogs scored with 20 minutes remaining, but the Wolves’ defense clamped down and preserved the win.
“The girls keep getting better each game,” Vandervelde said. “They played really well, calm, confident with the ball and really patient. They did a good job all the way around.
“We just out-possessed them and shut down their No. 12 [Sophie Green], who is a really good athlete and soccer player. They tried to hit the long ball to her over the top and we shut it down and frustrated them.”
Volleyball Forks 3, Hoquiam 1
HOQUIAM — The Spartans struggled in the first set, but shook off the early miscues and won three straight to claim a road match with the Grizzlies 12-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-15.
“A lot of errors on our side to start off,” Forks coach Jenn LeDuke said. “I made a few roster adjustments to change the vibe on the court. The girls stepped up and finished strong and it was awesome to see going into Tuesday night with Monte.”
Rian Peters led the way with nine kills and a pair of aces. Natalie Lausche added eight aces and three kills.
Jayden Olson chipped in five kills and Chloe Leverington totaled five kills and three blocks.
Ellie Kilmer was tough all around with four blocks, four aces and a pair of kills.
Kyra Neel had a kill, a block and two aces.
Kray Horton distributed 19 assists.
The Spartans (4-2, 10-3) host Evergreen League-leading Montesano (7-0, 11-2) on Tuesday.
North Mason 3, Sequim 0
SEQUIM — The Wolves weren’t aggressive enough in a three-set loss to the Bulldogs 25-15, 25-12, 25-18, according to coach Jennie Webber Heilman.
“We served well at 94 percent, but were not serving very tough, only getting two aces. We were playing very flat and were not moving well on the court.”
Webber Heilman said Amanda Weller and Kendall Hastings led the offense for Sequim.
Weller had six kills and five digs while Hastings served 8 of 8 with five kills.
Kalli Wiker contributed 14 assists.
“We needed to have better blocking to stop their offense or play more aggressive defense to pick up their attacks,” Webber Heilman said.
The Wolves (3-8, 4-9) will close out their season at Kingston on Tuesday.
“We are hoping to bring up the level of our play for our last match at Kingston,” Webber Heilman said.
Sequim went five sets with the Buccaneers in a loss earlier this season.
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Compiled from team reports. Email scores to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or phone 360-417-3525.
