PORT ANGELES — Maybe it was a sign of all the success to come.
Way back in September of 2009, Port Angeles earned a 12-0 win in new girls head soccer coach Scott Moseley’s first game in charge as the team scored more goals in that one game than it had the entire previous season.
Mired in a rough patch that saw just seven wins in the prior five seasons, the Roughriders quickly developed into a competitive team that first season, going 6-8-1 and making a district playoff appearance.
“There were a few reasons [he wanted to coach]. One, I had coached before and knew that you can have a different relationship with the players when you are a teacher,” Moseley said. “You can see kids in a different light.
Moseley went to work on his players’ psyches from the outset.
“Changing the mentality to win,” Moseley said, “that they could be competitive as a soccer team and that they could win games. Our first two games we played, we beat Chimacum and Sequim 6-1 and I think for the girls it was probably a shock that we could win.
“But it took a while. It’s such a long process and when a program has been down for a number of years, it can be hard to turn around.”
Port Angeles continued to grow under Moseley’s guidance over the past 13 seasons, first becoming a perennial playoff contender, then breaking through with the school’s first state appearance in 30 years in 2016.
He departs as Port Angeles’ winningest girls soccer head coach by a mile. Moseley’s squads posted an overall record of 125 wins, 93 losses and 3 ties. And he was able to coach his three daughters, Abbie, Kathryn and Emma along the way.
The Riders went 74-35-1 in their recent run of success over the last six seasons, with four Class 2A State Tournament appearances, including two quarterfinals trips and three straight Olympic League titles during that stretch, after a 33-year gap between league championships.
And if not for the pandemic, there’s little doubt Port Angeles would have added a fifth state tournament trip in that period.
Port Angeles’ rise into a consistent contender went part and parcel with a general rise in the level of girls soccer across the Peninsula.
“There’s a whole bunch of factors there,” Moseley said. “Soccer gets a boost with the introduction of the Peninsula College team [in 2010]. We try and go to a game each year as a team to see what the next level is like. That can be inspiring to the girls. And there was more youth soccer with Storm King Soccer Club, so more opportunities there.
“And PC helped run the Peninsula Soccer Academy. They helped coach and support a high school girls club team in the winter.”
A working relationship between Moseley and Peninsula women’s coach Kanyon Anderson soon turned into a friendship that improved both programs.
In his early days as an educator, Anderson was mentored by Moseley as the two taught a combined U.S. Studies/American Literature class at the high school.
“What’s funny is I tried talking him into being my JV coach,” Moseley said.
Anderson said having some older role models excel on the field may have sparked some visions in the minds of Port Angeles players.
“The kids grew up watching good college soccer and that may have grown their interest in the game,” Anderson said.
“[And former Port Angeles players] Kyrsten McGuffey, Millie [Long], Paxton Rodocker — what a cool thing for us to bring in local players of that caliber. It’s been a very symbiotic relationship because Scott will encourage his kids to come to our team camp and be part of that, and we will help those players and that helps Scott.
“And when they have a truly special player and we can recruit them, it helps us.”
Rick Ross, Peninsula’s associate dean for athletics and student life, also saw the rise of Port Angeles soccer up close.
“It’s remarkable how much Coach Moseley, in concert with community soccer coaches from Port Angeles Junior Soccer and Storm King, have elevated the level of play for girls’ soccer in Port Angeles, producing players every year that are moving on to the college level,” Ross said.
“His dedication to his players is not only reflected by the Riders’ win-loss records and playoff appearances, but also by the quality of character these young ladies are demonstrating after playing for him.
“Simply stated, Scott’s contribution to girls’ soccer is now part of Roughrider history. His shoes will be hard to fill.”
Moseley said the state breakthrough in 2016 was his most thrilling moment as a coach.
“I’d almost kind of resigned myself that it would take a lot to break through, but I don’t know if we will ever get to state,” Moseley said. “We’d been close many times, lost a lot of loser-out, winner-to-state games, so to finally get that breakthrough against your archrival on the sixth PK is pretty wild.”
The 2019 team, which won the most games in school history (16) and won home district and state tournament games against Sequim and Sehome, was likely the most talented squad he coached.
Port Angeles’ all-time leading goal scorer Millie Long (86) was part of that squad.
“He’s one of my favorite coaches because he has such a calm presence,” Long said. “He made me feel like I could believe in myself. He gave me confidence on the field. He was really positive to the whole team; he would encourage us to learn and never yell while doing it.”
And that season was the first of three straight league titles.
“Really fulfilling winning three in a row with three different groups, really,” Moseley said. “To be consistent like that when really good players graduate and move on to play at the college level while we continue to do well was pretty fulfilling.”
The feat also impressed Anderson.
“Winning three [league championships] in a row at the high school level is a huge accomplishment,” he said, “because you might get a transcendent player or a really special class, but they usually aren’t going to make a huge impact until their junior or senior year. So even if you have a very special group you might win two and then you see it at the high school level: the big rebuild.
“And for Scott and the team to win the league this year, post-Millie and all that, is a really big accomplishment.”
Behind every successful coach is a supportive spouse, and Moseley praised his wife Mary for being there for him. And he had kind words for another important Mary, his mom.
“My mom played soccer until she was 55 and coached one of the first Mercer Island girls soccer teams, so I consider her my role model,” Moseley said.
In his retirement, Moseley plans to spend more time with family at his family’s shared cabin near Winthrop and check out some high-level English Premier League games in person.
“It’s a hard decision to leave because we’ve had success,” Moseley said. “The girls have been great, parents have been supportive and I will continue to be a supporter of Port Angeles girls athletics.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
