Boys soccer: Woodland ends Sequim’s season at state

A trio of well-timed counter attacks spelled doom for Sequim’s boys soccer squad in their state opener.

Sequim junior Ryan Tolberd had a pair of headers for scores, but Woodland’s Jackson Finn notched a hat trick with a score just before halftime and two second-half scores for a 3-2 Woodland win in the opening round of the state 2A tournament on May 15 in Port Angeles, ending Sequim’s record-breaking season.

The Wolves (15-2-2), who notched their first undefeated league campaign earlier this year, ended their season with a pair of heart-breaking decisions: a 1-0 loss on penalty kicks to Fife in the West Central District championship on May 11, and the loss to Woodland (13-4-2).

“At state every little chance you have to take,” Sequim coach Dave Brasher said. “They capitalized on all three of their good chances.”

Sequim jumped out to the early lead when Tolberd took a pass from sophomore Eli Gish and netted a score at 29 minutes.

Sequim’s Ryan Tolberd, left, and Mike McAleer celebrate Tolberd’s first half goal against Woodland on May 15. Tolberd had two scores in the state playoff game. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

The Wolves looked to go into halftime with the lead but Finn, a sophomore, found a crease in the Wolves’ defense and slipped a shot past SHS keeper Navy Thomas-Brenske in stoppage time just before the intermission whistle.

“(If) we could have taken that one-goal into halftime it would have been different,” Brasher said.

Woodland sophomore Jackson Finn, left, slips a shot past Sequim goalkeeper Navy Thomas-Brenske just before halftime. The Beavers went on to edge Sequim 3-2 on May 15, the opening round of the state 2A tournament, in Port Angeles. Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell

In a seesaw second half, the Beavers got another score from Finn on a play that was initially negated by a line judge but overruled and allowed by the referee at the 54-minute mark.

Finn added a third score at the 67-minute mark for a 3-1 Woodland lead.

“That 23 (Finn) is a pretty strong striker,” Brasher said.

A desperate Sequim squad rallied for a score on a set play at 72 minutes when Gish found Adrian Funston, who headed it to Tolberd for another header score, trimming Woodland’s lead to one.

In the waning moments Tolberd had another header that Woodland keeper Alexis Lopez snagged, Gish chipped a shot wide right, and SHS exchange student Mathys Tanche had a deep drive and hard shot on goal that Lopez grabbed for a key save to secure Woodland’s win.

Sequim’s Mathys Tanche, left, and Jordan Hurdlow, right, help starting SHS goalkeeper Navy Thomas-Brenske off the field after the Wolves’ 3-2 loss to Woodland in the opening round of the state 2A tournament. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

“We needed another five minutes — maybe one minute,” Brasher said.

Sequim junior midfielder Mike McAleer said Finn and sophomore midfielder Jesse Thrall made a big difference for Woodland all game.

“They’re a good counter-attack team,” McAleer said. “(Thrall) was so good (with) movement off the ball.”

The Wolves saw the final game for a number of top seniors including defender Rudy Franco, Brandon Benson and Chris Morgan, plus midfielder Sean Weber and exchange students Tanche and Rodrigo Silva-Carrasco.

“The seniors played their hearts out,” Brasher said. “This team had a lot of heart … a lot of character. I had a lot of fun coming to practice. (It’s) the best team unit we’ve had in a long time. We never got blown out.”

Sequim High players thank fans at Peninsula College’s Sigmar Field following the Wolves’ 3-2 loss to Woodland on May 15. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

But 16 of the 23 Wolves on the roster are eligible to return in 2020, including a number of key starters — Tolberd, Funston, Gish, McAleer, Thomas-Brenske and Parker, among others — along with five ninth-graders who worked their way onto the varsity roster this spring.

“We knew this freshman class coming up was going to be good,” McAleer said. “They exceeded expectations.”

Sequim’s Sean Weber, center, keeps his eye on the ball as teammate Eli Gish, left, looks on, in a state 2A playoff game on May 15. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell