PORT ANGELES — The offensive fireworks started early and finished late in a girls soccer showdown between Port Angeles and Port Townsend on Tuesday.
And befitting the game’s tenor, it was the team that scored last that came out with the victory on a crisp, cool evening at Civic Field.
Sophomore Kaitlin Boston scored the last of her two second-half goals in the 79th minute to lead Port Angeles to a dramatic 5-4 victory over Port Townsend in each team’s Olympic League opener.
Capping a wild back-and-forth affair that saw the Redskins tie the score three times, the tally negated a hat trick from reigning league MVP Irina Lyons.
“To get a game-winner at the 79th minute, that’s a great thrill for us” Port Angeles (1-0-0 in league, 5-3-1 overall) coach Scott Moseley said.
“It was the first league game, and we lost to them last year, so it’s always great to get the first game under the belt.
“Not a lot of defense, but there were a lot of really good offensive players out there.”
Lyons attacks
Of course, one of those players was Lyons, who put the Redskins (0-1-0, 3-4-0) on the verge of a 4-4 draw with just four minutes to go with the last of her three goals of the night.
As was the case all night, however, Port Angeles answered almost immediately in the form of Boston’s dramatic goal.
Coming off a brilliant individual effort, the Port Angeles sophomore dribbled past two defenders to squeeze a shot past Port Townsend goalkeeper Mia Henderson and set off a wild celebration on the Rider sidelines.
“[This win] sets a high standard for us,” said Boston, who started the game on defense before moving up front in the 20th minute.
“Teams are going to be knowing that we are pretty good, and we stick with it.
“Towards the end of the game when we were tired and we thought we were going to tie, we kept with it.”
Port Angeles set the tone for the night with two goals in the first six minutes.
Sophomore Brittany McBride scored the first of her two goals in the fourth minute, then Shayla Northern added another off a Kathryn Moseley corner kick in the sixth.
Lyons answered back with the first of her three unassisted goals in the ninth minute, then eventually tied the game for the first time in the 42nd minute with a breakaway goal.
“We were playing catch-up the whole night,” Port Townsend coach Ryan Moss said.
“I think we got a little comfortable each time we tied it, and they took advantage of that. Every time, they rebounded and they scored within about two minutes of us scoring.”
Indeed, Boston put the Riders back on top just six minutes later after collecting a Tori Holcomb pass near the top of the penalty box, turning and firing off a shot that bounced into the left corner of the goal.
Jewel Johnson came back a goal off on another Redskin counter attack in the 50th minute, but McBride netted her second goal of the game five minutes after that on a long shot that bounced awkwardly in front of the Redskin keeper.
Lyons responded again with her final tally of the night, scoring on yet another breakaway.
Much like her second goal of the match, she simply muscled her way past the Port Angeles defense and beat Port Angeles keeper Kearsten Cox with an open shot in front of the goal.
Even though Boston was able to put the Riders back on top in the end, Moss said he felt his team came out of the game with a lot of positives.
“It was definitely a big step up for this team,” Moss said. “I saw a lot of things come together tonight, so it was very positive for us.
“It’s a loss, yes, but in a sense it’s a curious win.”