PORT ANGELES — On a frigid night at Civic Field, a group of cold, but happy, Port Angeles girls soccer players made history.
The Roughriders won their first league championship in 34 years, taking care of business with a 4-0 victory over Olympic on Tuesday night to lock up the Olympic League 2A Division title.
“It’s really awesome. We had an amazing start to the season and it’s just continued. It’s amazing to make history and be a part of it,” said Riders midfielder Mia Gagnon, who contributed a goal in the Riders’ win.
“There was never a time all season I doubted [the Riders could win the championship],” Gagnon said.
The one down side to the celebratory night for the girls was defensive standout Lucah Folden, who injured a hamstring and had to be carried out of the game. Hannah Reetz filled in on the defensive back line for Folden. Port Angeles coach Scott Moseley said Reetz “did an amazing job.”
“Oh gosh, it feels great, we haven’t won it in so long,” Reetz said. “A lot of goals were crossed off this season,” she said.
Moseley pointed out where this team is special.
“They’re fast, they’re versatile and they have a heart to win,” said coach Scott Moseley.
Moseley is as amazed as anyone at how well the team has done this year, especially the Port Angeles back line of Teagan Clark, Anna Petty, Kiana Watson-Charles and Folden.
This game was typical of Riders’ games in which Port Angeles’ back line allowed very little in the way of opportunities for serious scoring chances.
Olympic had some runs that looked scary at first, but the Trojans’ forwards got quickly gobbled up by the Riders’ back line and couldn’t get off any serious shots.
Olympic’s only serious scoring chance came on a long-distance shot that went just high over the crossbar in the waning minutes.
“It’s amazing. They [Olympic] had two shots,” Moseley said. “The defense just closes that down. It’s a swarming defense.”
Millie Long scored a hat trick and had an assist on Gagnon’s goal to push her league-leading goal-scoring total to 29, but she paid dearly for her big game.
Long took a hard shot to the face from point-blank range in the first half and had to come out of the game with blood pouring out of her nose and mouth.
She wears braces and the braces cut her upper lip. She got some emergency attention from her orthodontist at halftime. Her braces were taped up and she went back into the game in the second half, scoring two more goals despite having wounds in her mouth.
“My whole face was numb,” Long said.
After the win, she didn’t mind so much.
“It was worth it. I would take 10 balls to the face to win a league championship,” she said.
Long expected she would be making a trip to the orthodontist to have her braces looked at.
The Riders were determined to put Olympic in a hole and not let them hang around with a league title on the line.
As good as Port Angeles has been all year (the team has not lost a league game in regulation all year), the Riders have never been able to shake a likewise very good North Kitsap team that has remained two or three points behind them all season.
They needed a win Tuesday to clinch a league championship.
Long’s first goal was completely unassisted. The Olympic goalkeeper made a mistake kicking the ball directly at Long lurking in the offensive zone. Long collected the ball off her chest and was quickly all alone behind the defense for an easy goal.
It was moments after that when Long took the ball to her face and was forced to come out.
Even with their main striker sidelined while they tried to stop the bleeding, the Riders put a lot of pressure on the Trojans. Bailee Larson had a near-goal on a nice cross and Gagnon missed scoring a goal by perhaps a foot when Port Angeles caught the keeper out of position.
Finally, in the first half’s stoppage time before halftime Long let the Port Angeles coaches know, “I can deal with it,” returned to the game and immediately paid dividends, making a great pass to Gagnon, who scored to make it 2-0 right before the end of the half.
In the second half, Long took over in the offensive zone, scoring two goals, drawing penalties and having several near misses.
In the 56th minute, Long broke through for her second goal, collecting a pass from Jada Cargo and booting the ball in to make it 3-0. Long scored her third goal in the 75th minute.
With the league championship, the Riders (10-2-0, 13-2-1) get a bye in the first round of the West Central District III Class 2A District Tournament.
They will play the winner of a first-round match between the South Puget Sound League’s Highline (8-4-1 in the SPSL North, 9-6-1 overall) and Steilacoom (9-4 in the SPSL South, 10-7 0verall) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Wally Sigmar Field at Peninsula College.
If the girls win that match, they are in the state 2A tournament, though they will get another third/fourth-place seeding match on Nov. 9, likely at Franklin Pierce Stadium in Tacoma (though if Sequim is in that game, it could be moved to Wally Sigmar Field).
If they lose, they are still alive in the district tournament and must go into the consolation bracket and win two matches to make it to state.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Port Angeles’ Millie Long, left, is chased by Olympic’s Alexis Valenzuela and Kaya McGill as she drives towards the goal on Tuesday in Port Angeles.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Port Angeles’ Delaney Wenzl goes up and over Olympic’s Alexis Valenzuela on Tuesday night at Port Angeles Civic Field.
