Klahowya
Klahowya avenged a regular-season loss with a 3-0 victory against Vashon Island Nov. 2 for the district title.
Addyson Dickey found herself around the net several times, firing shots at the goalie or a couple off the crossbar. However, she crossed the ball and Vashon’s goalie deflected it to Ali Divano’s feet for the first goal. Klahowya goalie Ella Bottalico saw one shot on goal, coming in the first minute of the second half when the ball flew off the crossbar and over the net.
Amira Lyons had a physical outing against the bigger, stronger Vashon squad. Yet, she found the net on a penalty kick 10 minutes into the second half. The final goal came when Divano headed a through ball that landed on the feet of Raven Stoner, who dribbled the ball past the goalie.
Coach Troy Oelschalger said the Eagles expect to return to state as the top seed and host a few home games. In addition, he believes the Eagles have found their stride after a two-game skid to end the regular season.
Meanwhile, Klahowya easily won its first postseason game 7-0 over Annie Wright.
The first goal came when Bailey Watland assisted Stoner 20 minutes into the game.
Peyton Leifeste intercepted Annie Wright’s goal kick and fought through a few defenders before firing past the goalie for the second goal. After receiving a few passes from Watland, Stoner did the same. Stoner fired a shot off the crossbar that Watland rebounded and placed in the back of the net to end the first half.
Within the first couple of minutes in the second half, Divano intercepted a goal kick and scored from 30 yards away. Divano and Leifeste added to the scoresheet with a pair of goals within a minute.
Stoner finished the scoring after an assist from Lyons with two minutes left in the game.
Central Kitsap
No. 11 Central Kitsap will be heading to state for the first time since the 2019-20 season, after defeating Prairie 2-0 Nov. 1. The Cougars two scorers were Maleia Dayao and Kylah Coulter. In addition, Rachael Remnet earned her 11th shutout of the season.
“The girls played so well and showed a far better performance than Saturday’s game” against Bainbridge, coach Patrick Leonard said. “Prairie was very good and a tough opponent. Our girls just showed great composure and played great soccer.”
The Cougars will begin their state title run Nov. 7.
Bremerton
Bremerton hosted Evergreen as the No. 11 seed Oct. 31. Although the Knights struck the back of the net, their season ended in the first round, losing 2-1. Similar to Kingston, the Knights needed to win three games to qualify for state.
North Kitsap
The Viking soccer team returns to state for the ninth straight season after winning its first district game against Steilacoom 3-0.
“It’s exciting,” coach Travis Rider said. “We had that in our sights at the beginning of the season, and it became a reality when the wins happened.”
The Vikings will face Sammamish at home Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in the district semifinals.
The Vikings started slow with just a couple of shots in the first 10 minutes of the game Oct. 31. However, Syleena Hogan nailed one of her two goals from 35 yards away to open the scoring.
Steilacoom’s first shot didn’t come until the second half but goalie Campbell Weible made the easy save. The Vikings had to begin to adapt to postseason physicality in the second half in order to extend the lead. “A lot of these girls play at a high level and are used to it but it’s a nice wake-up call at the beginning of the postseason,” Rider said.
Evelyn Beers fought through Steilacoom defenders and scored six minutes into the second half. Hogan scored the final goal with a free kick sneaking over the Steilacoom wall and through the goalie’s hands.
Kingston
The Buccaneers returned to the district playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The No. 15 Bucs had to win three straight games to make it to state. However, the Bucs lost to No. 10 Orting on the road 2-0 Oct. 31.
