SEQUIM — Sequim’s defensive effort stood tall when striker Taryn Johnson ran on to an Olive Bridge pass and scored inside the final minute of double overtime to lift the Wolves to a 2-1 double OT victory over Class 3A Bainbridge on Tuesday night.
“We went into OT and the message was ‘Relax, we are going to win this one,’ ” coach Ken Garling said. “The first five minutes of OT, it was back-and-forth effort from both teams. Second OT, same formula. We defended well and with less than a minute, we stayed compact defensively and Olive Bridge made a great play.
“She saw Taryn between two defenders at midfield, saw her making that run and put a fantastic ball up to her. Taryn found an extra gear and blazed right past the defenders for a one-on-one versus the keeper and she buried it in the back of the net.”
Sequim (4-1-0) stayed a game behind first-place North Kitsap with the win over second-place Bainbridge.
“Less than a minute left and the coaches, we were talking about who is taking the penalty kicks [in a shootout],” Garling said. “It was just a great team effort. I thought the girls’ fight was so impressive. They may bend a little bit, but they don’t break.
“We were able to compete and hang in there. This is playoff soccer, these are the teams we will face, and we are getting great experience.”
Johnson notched her first goal around the 20th minute mark to put the Wolves up 1-0.
“Taryn found a seam, Jenny Gomez found the space with the assist and we were up 1-0 at halftime,” Garling said.
Bainbridge received a penalty in the Sequim goal box about 15 minutes into the second half.
Wolves goalkeeper Kalli Grove stood up to save the penalty kick attempt, but the Spartans crashed the rebound and tied the game at 1-1.
“Really good play by Kalli, good play by Bainbridge as well,” Garling said.
The Wolves regrouped and played shutout soccer the rest of the match.
“We had to be sound defensively and get them out of their defensive shape,” Garling said.
“Our girls were fantastic defensively. Libby Turella and Ivy Barrett at center back, how well they play those positions and how well they cover. And our outside backs, Mikkiah Winters and Amara Gonzalez, kept their strong strikers at bay. Great defensive performance.”
Garling also said Kaia Lestage was sound up the middle.
“Anything up the middle, Kaia was all over,” Garling said. “And great distribution to our wingers.”
And Grove came through late in the game in goal.
“Can’t say enough about Kalli, she had a couple of shots that were just dangerous late, and she came up and made some plays,” Garling said.
“Just a great team win.”
North Kitsap 3, Port Angeles 2
PORT ANGELES — The Roughriders played well, leading late against the unbeaten Vikings, ranked sixth in the latest Class 2A RPI ranking.
“We were leading, we had a chance to win,” coach Daniel Horton said. “It was our best game of the season. I’ve said that before, but every time we go out and have another best game of the season, the girls are getting rewarded for their efforts, their learning and their growing, and last night it almost paid off against one of the best teams in the state.”
North Kitsap took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
“It was them catching us in transition and taking advantage of us being in the wrong spot at the wrong time,” Horton said.
“We felt good at halftime, made some adjustments, saw that their defenders weren’t incredibly comfortable with the ball at their feet. The goal kicks they played short to their center backs, they started playing short kicks and we were able to take advantage of their mistakes.”
Teanna Clark evened the score at 1-1. “She came up from about 25 yards out and went over the keeper’s head into the net,” Horton said.
Becca Manson scored her first goal of the season from about 25 yards away to put Port Angeles up 2-1 with about 20 minutes to play.
“Becca has been close to finding the net, so it was nice to see her rewarded,” Horton said.
“We left them about 20 minutes to come back. And for a team as experienced as NK, that’s like a full game. They weren’t panicked being down and they didn’t play rushed. We fought to hold on, but they wore us down and put a couple of nice balls into the box on crosses and a free kick, and they found bodies and heads to find the net. They weren’t cheap goals.”
Horton was encouraged by the team’s play.
“I will take that effort any game, any day of the week. That’s the type of effort it takes to win and extend your season into the postseason.”
Horton had praise for center backs Maeve Croteau and Ava-Anne Sheahan for their play.
“They had their hands full against some college-caliber players and they were all over the field cleaning stuff up.”
Izzy Felton also played well in midfield.
“She anchored us offensively and defensively,” Horton said.
Port Angeles (3-3-0) hosts Bainbridge tonight.
South Bend 3, Forks 1
FORKS — The Spartans played well in their home opener, according to their coach Tracy Gillett.
“It was a fun, tough and exciting game,” Gillett said. “The Forks goal was scored by the lightning-fast Allie Coons.
“Defensively, all our players did great but I would like to give shoutouts to the defensive line of Miley Blanton, Aliya Gillett, Lilly Galeana and Marys Hernandez-Beltran. Another shout out to our keepers/goalies Janessa Ramos and Keira Johnson. First home game was a fight and we are ready for more,” she said.
