Olympic League standings
(as of Oct. 15)
Olympic 8-1-0 11-2-0
North Kitsap 7-2-0 8-4-1
Port Angeles 7-2-0 10-3-0
Sequim* 3-7-0 4-8-1
Bremerton 4-6-0 6-6-1
North Mason 3-6-0 4-9-0
Kingston 1-9-0 2-11-0
* — Leads Bremerton in standings with points earned in shootout losses
After going the first six league games without a victory, Sequim’s girls soccer squad is on a roll — and may roll right into the postseason.
The Wolves got a late goal from Daisy Ryan and held on to beat Olympic League 2A Division power North Kitsap 1-0 on Oct. 11 to stay in the mix for a West Central District playoff spot.
“They work so hard at digging deep — they just earned it,” Sequim coach Derek Vander Velde said.
“Being plagued by injuries all season, that is a team that just knows how to fight all the way through,” he said.
The Wolves avenged a 1-0 loss against the Vikings from earlier in the year — a match that was decided in the final 90 seconds — when Ryan took a pass from Hope Glasser and found the net.
“(A Viking) player was trying to block it off,” Ryan said. “I got my foot in and just chipped it in.”
SHS sophomore Olivia Hare, who took over for all-league keeper Claire Henninger this fall, got the shutout in goal.
“Liv made some amazing saves in her first year,” Vander Velde said. “To fill in some bigger shoes is quite a feat.”
Vander Velde said the Vikings put about 20 shots on goal.
“It was a back and forth game with a lot of long balls; we normally don’t do a lot of long balls,” he said.
After starting the season 0-6 in league —with four matches either decided by one goal or by shootouts — the Wolves have gone 3-1 in league to put themselves in playoff contention.
“We were really down on ourselves at the beginning of the season,” Ryan said following the win over North Kitsap.
“We had a practice where we talked about all this positive stuff and it just went up from there,” she said. “It’s awesome. Our team has really picked it up.”
The Wolves saw a trio of injuries in recent games, including two ACL injuries and a concussion, the Sequim coach said.
“The girls have continued to fight. What they’re doing is pretty incredible,” Vander Velde said. “I’m really proud of them.
The Wolves needed to win that North Kitsap game to stay ahead of Bremerton for the fourth slot in the 2A Division playoff chase.
Sequim (3-7-0 12 points, 4-8-1) next plays at home at 5 p.m. Tuesday against Port Townsend (0-5, 1-11) in a non-league match.
Looking ahead
Sequim was scheduled to host the 1A Port Townsend’s Redhawks in a non-league match on Oct. 16.
The Wolves are at North Mason on Oct. 18 before finishing the regular season on Oct. 23 at home against Kingston.
The 2A district tourney is set for Nov. 3 at Franklin Pierce High School in Tacoma.
