PORT TOWNSEND — Having sewn up the Olympic League 2A Division title last week, Sequim head coach Dave Brasher was worried about a falloff in form when the Wolves faced Port Townsend in a nonleague match Tuesday at Memorial Field.
With the experienced group of veterans and talented underclassmen on the Sequim roster, Brasher didn’t need to worry. The Wolves shut out the Redhawks 2-0, getting a goal in each half.
“It was our first game after clinching and it was a nonleaguer, so I was expecting a little bit of a drop off,” Brasher said.
“We played pretty darn well, I thought we controlled most of the play. Ryan Tolberd had, I think, three chances early on that he just couldn’t finish on in the first 19 minutes or so.”
Port Townsend coach Rob Cantley also felt his team performed well, especially after coming off a lackluster 0-0 tie with Olympic last week.
“I felt like we played really well, considering they are the undefeated league leaders. We knew how good they are and how fast they are, especially up front. And they have speed off the ball, they are a good pressing team.”
Sequim broke through on the scoreboard in the 35th minute.
“Adrian Funston took it from the middle and hit a nice pass to Mathys [Tanche] and he drilled a shot low and left to make it 1-0,” Brasher said.
“We were missing some starters and had to shuffle things around in the back,” Cantley said. “There was a fear, especially after the Olympic game, that we may not be able to keep up with them and we did well to play above that fear, to not be afraid of them and do our best. Balance of play [Sequim] probably deserved the win but we were in it, we were four minutes away from going into halftime tied.”
Up 1-0 at the halftime break, the Wolves added an insurance goal early in the second half.
“It was a little fortuitious actually,” Brasher said. “Our assistant coach [former Sequim goalkeeper] Austin Wagner told the boys that [Port Townsend goalkeeper] Nico [Winegar] was coming out pretty far and he suggested hitting some long balls to try and catch him out of the goal box.”
Brandon Benson did exactly that in the 48th minute, taking a pass from Rudy Franco and connecting from long range.
“Brandon Benson took a pass from Rudy Franco and hit a 40-yard floating shot and caught him out of position,” Brasher said.
“Their goalie played really well for them, too. He stopped half a dozen really good chances.”
Brasher said Franco was the Wolves’ man of the match. “Defensively, he made some great plays solidified everything,” Brasher said.
Navy Thomas-Brenske and Jordan Hurdlow split time in goal for the Wolves.
“They weren’t challenged too tightly,” Brasher said. “They had to deal with a couple of set plays, a header that went wide. I had them with four shots total, so our defense played well.”
Brasher also said Rodrigo Silva-Carrasco and Tanche played well for Sequim.
The Wolves (10-0-0, 11-0-2) host North Mason on Friday.
Cantley had praise for his players.
“I thought we came off the field with our confidence restored,” Cantley said.
“Silas DeWyse and Zach Dempsey did well in the midfield. They battled really hard. Defenders Owen Scanlon and Lou Babik did a good job of standing their ground and doing well with what was in front of them and Nico had five saves in goal.”
Port Townsend (2-2-0, 4-4-2) hosts Klahowya on Friday.
Port Angeles 4, North Kitsap 1
POULSBO — The Roughriders soccer team got an important 4-1 road win at North Kitsap to lock up second place in the Olympic League 2A Division.
With the win, Port Angeles is at 8-2 in league (10-2 overall) and will likely get to host a West Central District III playoff match on May 4 at Peninsula College’s Sigmar Field. The Riders’ only two losses all season to undefeated league champion Sequim. In fact, Sequim and Port Angeles combined have a won-loss record of 21-2-2.
The Vikings came into the match with a chance to stay alive for second place, but the Riders quickly got ahead in the ninth minute on a goal from Luis Galvan after a rebound off the goalkeeper. It was Galvan’s second-straight game with a goal. Just two minutes later, Port Angeles scored again after good passing between Andrew and Stuart Methner, leading to Andrew beating the Vikings keeper one-on-one.
The game went to half with the Riders holding on to their 2-0 lead. Port Angeles added an insurance goal in the 51st minute when Stuart Methner got the ball at midfield, dribbled past three defenders and scored.
The Vikings got on the board in the 64th minute, but the Riders quickly regained whatever momentum they lost by scoring two minutes later on a second goal by Stuart Methner on a rebound of his own shot.
“Port Angeles played some of their best soccer in the game, but still have a lot of areas that can be improved as they prepare for the playoffs,” said coach Chris Saari.
“Hollund Bailey stood out defensively winning a lot of balls at the back consistently and using his pace to track defenders,” Saari said. “Gabe Long helped control the midfield for PA with his distribution and strong play in the air.”
Saari named Andrew and Stuart Mether, who combined for three goals and an assist, as his offensive players of the match, Bailey his defensive player of the match and Long and Galvan his transitional players of the match.
The Roughriders will next play at Bremerton (5-6, 7-6-1) Friday. While the Riders are locked in to the second-place seed, Saari said the team will look to build momentum into the playoffs while also resting some injured players.
