TACOMA — From the Olympic League 2A Division cellar to sealing the school’s first state tournament trip, October was a heady month for the Sequim girls soccer team.
The Wolves are headed to the Class 2A State Tournament for the first time in history after a 2-1 double overtime defeat of West Central District Tournament No. 1 seed White River (14-2-4) on Tuesday.
“I think the girls just had more, they are just fighters,” Sequim coach Derek Vander Velde said. “They have been this whole season. Getting into the postseason has been a real big test for them and now they know they are setting milestones, so that’s pretty cool.”
It was surging Sequim’s (9-8-1) eighth win in its last nine games since the Wolves opened the first half of Olympic League play 0-6.
“Not too bad, right?” Vander Velde said.
“I was just hoping to turn it around. The girls needed some positive reinforcement, they needed to believe in themselves and once they did that they turned it around. They believe in themselves individually and they trust each other as a team.”
And the Tuesday night triumph doubled as a comeback win. Sequim trailed 1-0 at halftime and rallied for the victory.
“It was emotional,” Vander Velde said. “The girls played really well. White River got a goal in the first half, a simple mistake, a bad decision on our part, but the girls were able to fight back.”
The Wolves were able to knot the score at 1-1 in the 65th minute when Hannah Wagner was fouled and earned a free kick.
“The girls came out even more on fire to get one back,” Vander Velde said.
Yana Hoesel took the free kick, a left-to-right shot to the far corner that left no doubt.
“I don’t care if you are a professional goalie, nobody was putting a hand on that shot,” Vander Velde said.
“Yana’s free kick was pretty spectacular. For a senior, a captain, to step up under that amount of pressure, that’s leadership right there. She was so calm and composed when she kicked it.”
Sequim scored the game winner in the final minute of the second 5-minute golden-goal overtime.
“I think Yana hit the ball, we were playing direct [aggressive on offense] at that point,” Vander Velde said. “Daisy [Ryan] was able to chase down the defender, Daisy won [the ball], the keeper came out, [Daisy] shot the ball off the goalie and it came to her feet and she had a nice easy touch from about 6 yards out.”
Ryan sunk the rebound for the win and was mobbed as Sequim’s celebration started in earnest.
“We didn’t feel really challenged by all their shots,” Vander Velde said. “They had quite a few shots on but they didn’t test our keeper [Olivia Hare].”
Vander Velde said defenders Gabby Happe and Mary McAleer did a great job on the back line, Jessica Dietzman played a great second half and Natalya James worked hard to blow up girls who had the ball and regain possession.
Eden Johnson also was praised for playing out wide and coming back to the side
“The whole team did a really great job,” Vander Velde said.
Sequim will play North Kitsap (12-4-1) for the district’s top seed to the state tournament Saturday at 2 p.m. at Silverdale Stadium.
The Wolves will open the 16-team state tournament with a game early next week.
Fife 3, Port Angeles 0
LAKEWOOD — The Roughriders were shut out by the Trojans and dropped into the district tournament’s consolation bracket to face No. 1 South Puget Sound League seed White River.
That game, a loser-out contest, will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at Franklin Pierce High School in Tacoma.
Port Angeles (12-6-0) gave up one goal in the first half and two in the second as they were pushing to get on the board.
“Fife is a quality team, but our play was not up to the task at times,” Riders coach Scott Moseley said. “They were able to pass away from our pressure and defensive breakdowns ultimately sealed the loss.”
Moseley singled out the play of goalie Maddi Roening who was sure-handed on multiple shots and corner kicks. Also highlighted were midfielders Kyrsten McGuffey and Bailee Larson.
Volleyball Neah Bay to state, Bruins alive
JOYCE — The Red Devils volleyball team clinched a spot in the Class 1B state tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Tacoma Baptist in the Tri-District Tournament at Crescent High School on Tuesday.
Neah Bay will visit Mount Vernon Christian for a spot in the tourney finals and the No. 1 overall seed to state today at 2:45 p.m.
Clallam Bay split a pair of Tri-District games Tuesday. The Bruins outlasted Lopez 3-2 in a loser-out contest to advance in the tournament.
Clallam Bay was then swept by Sea-Tac League champ Puget Sound Adventist Academy 25-14, 25-10, 25-19. The Bruins have two more chances to make the state tournament.
They’ll face Shoreline Christian today at 1 p.m. with the winner heading to state. If Clallam Bay loses that contest, they’ll face the loser of Tacoma Baptist-Concordia Christian today at 4:30 p.m. for the Tri-District’s seventh and final seed to state.
________
Compiled from team reports. Email scores to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or phone 360-417-3525.
