PREP SOCCER POSTSEASON: Port Angeles holds on to beat tenacious Vikings
Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, May 13, 2026
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles boys soccer team got a pair of goals on Matthew Miller free kicks, got a bit of luck with a barrage of North Kitsap shots going off posts and crossbars, but otherwise played solid defense to keep the Vikings off the board in a 2-0 District 3 tournament playoff match.
It was the third time Port Angeles beat North Kitsap this season.
“It’s really tough to get the energy to beat a team three times,” said coach Chris Saari. “I hope we don’t see them again.”
North Kitsap pressured the Riders’ defense all game. Port Angeles was effective in surrounding the Vikings’ forwards without fouling deep in the Port Angeles end and not allowing a lot of clear shots.
“We were busier than I like to be,” said Port Angeles defender Grant Butterworth. “They’re a good team. We’re going to bend, but we’re not going to break.”
The victory put the Roughriders into the district semifinals and one win away from the state tournament. Port Angeles, 15-2 and ranked No. 5 in Ratings Percentage Index, will play Fife, 15-1-1 and ranked No. 4 in RPI, in the semis at 6 p.m. tonight in Fife.
If the Riders win, they are in the district finals at Bainbridge High School at 3 p.m. Saturday against either Bainbridge, No. 2 in the state, or Franklin Pierce. If the Riders lose, they are still in good shape, moving to the consolation bracket to play either Steilacoom Washington in a winner-to-state match at 1 p.m. Saturday at North Kitsap High School.
All these games will be streamed on the NFHS Network.
The Riders got off to a fast start against North Kitsap, scoring in the first 90 seconds. Tanner Lagrange and Matthew Miller began the game with a great give-and-go to set up Miller for a shot, but a foul was called on North Kitsap. Though it appeared the foul might have been committed in the penalty box, a free kick was awarded just outside the box. It was a bad enough foul get an immediate yellow card.
It didn’t matter. Miller powered a hard shot through North Kitsap’s picket line and past Vikings’ keeper Andrew Knott.
The Vikings nearly got an equalizer twice. In the 10th minute, they got a solid shot that forced Riders’ keeper Maverick Williams to make a diving save. Then in the 17th minute, the Vikings’ Bryan Montes De Oca made a near-perfect free kick. His dangerous shot went high and looked like a certain goal, but the ball went off the crossbar and stayed out.
Miller drew another foul in the 28th minute deep in North Kitsap territory, getting another point-blank free kick. Before the North Kitsap players had settled and were ready, Miller alertly made a quick kick, finding a gap in the Vikings’ line and putting the ball in the far corner of the net.
“He took it before they were set. That showed a really smart soccer IQ,” Saari said.
From that point on, both teams had some golden chances with North Kitsap in particular putting a lot of pressure on the Riders’ defense.
Just one minute later, the Vikings probably had their best chance of the game on a breakaway in the box, but the North Kitsap shot went off the far post.
The Riders had their best chance on a third goal in the 58th minute when Aurelio Wilson-Rojero made a great pass to a wide open Miller deep in the box. Miller got off a solid point-blank shot, looking like he was going to get the hat trick, but North Kitsap’s Knott came up with a spectacular stop.
Finally, in stoppage time, North Kitsap had a header off a corner that went off the crossbar. Another header moments later just went wide of the post. The Riders’ defense and goalkeeper Williams had held on for a one of the hardest-fought shutouts the Riders have had this season.
Saari named Miller his offensive player of the match and his entire defensive backfield — Butterworth, Taihvan Lyle, Wilson-Rojero and Wyatt Davis his defensive players of the match along with Williams. It was Williams’ seventh shutout of the season.
In another playoff game Tuesday, East Jefferson lost to No. 3-ranked Vashon 10-1. The Rivals (10-7-0), who won their first playoff game last week as a co-op program, are still alive, however, and will play Bellevue Christian (10-5-1) at 5 p.m. today at Vashon Island, with the winner going to the district’s second-place game.
