Both the Port Angeles and Sequim boys soccer teams fell short of qualifying for the state tournament on Saturday with the Roughriders going down 3-1 against Franklin Pierce and the Wolves giving powerhouse Fife all they could handle, but falling 2-1 in the opening seconds of overtime.
The district tournament loser-out games were played back-to-back at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
Sequim held its own against Fife, a team looking to make its 10th straight trip to the state 2A tournament, but the Wolves were stunned by a game-winning goal in the first 17 seconds of overtime.
The Wolves had a lead for much of the game. After a Sequim player was fouled in the box, Josh Alcaraz converted the opportunity with a penalty kick goal in the 24th minute.
Fife, which came in to the game with a record of 14-3-1, put a lot of pressure on the Wolves all game, but keeper Nolan Valenzuela made a number of great saves to keep Sequim in the game.
Colton Wagner also had a big save in the 14th minute when Valenzuela got out of position. Wagner swooped in from his defensive spot and booted the ball out of trouble as it was only a couple yards from the goal-line.
Fife broke through in the 50th minute when a rebound on a hard shot got away from Valenzuela and the Trojans pounced on the rebound for a score.
The game remained tied 1-1 for the rest of regulation.
Fife scored shockingly quick in overtime as three forwards got the ball deep quickly with numbers on the retreating Sequim defense. The Trojans were able to set up a player onside on the left wing for a game-winning shot.
Win over Bremerton
To play Fife, the Wolves scored two goals on May 15 on headers off corner kicks, and those two scores held up in a 2-0 win at Wally Sigmar Field over Bremerton in the District 3 tournament.
Coach Dave Breckenridge said his team kept its composure in the face of Bremerton’s physical style of play. One Bremerton player was given a red card out of the game late in the second half.
“We didn’t play their game, and we kept our composure. We didn’t stoop to their level,” Breckenridge said.
He said the team has been working hard in practice on corner kicks and set pieces.
“We’ve been working on that for weeks,” Breckenridge said.
“We’ve struggled all year with it,” said Nico Musso, who had Sequim’s second goal. “All the work we’ve done finally paid off.”
Evan Cisneros had a couple of good chances early against the Knights. He had a shot in the 16th minute that actually got through the Bremerton goalkeeper, but the ball stayed out. In the 21st minute, Cisneros had a high shot that forced the keeper to make a leaping save.
That shot helped create a corner kick, however. Sebastian Buhrer took the corner and Cisneros was rewarded when he headed the cross in for the Wolves’ first goal.
Sequim’s second goal in the 49th minute was nearly identical to the first, just at the other end of the field. Alcaraz took the corner kick and this time Musso headed the ball in to give the Wolves an insurance goal. That score held up for the next 30-plus minutes as Bremerton put some pressure on but never got a shot past Sequim keeper Nolan Valenzuela.
The Wolves also beat Steilacoom 2-1 in overtime in the district opener at Peninsula College.
“This feels good,” Musso said. “The last two years, we haven’t even come close to making state. We’ve been building our chemistry and we’re getting there. I think we can get it.”
It was a successful all-around year for the Wolves, who went 8-10 on the season and won two postseason games, 2-1 over Steilacoom in overtime and 2-0 over Bremerton.
Sequim graduates eight seniors, including Valenzuela. Other seniors include Connor Goff, James Mason, Weston Owens, Kyhlan Henderson, Luke Rocha, Preston Kurtze and Adrian Mendez.
