Freshman Mia Smalley might be one of the smallest players on the pitch in any given match, but she and her fellow underclassmen are showcasing just how high spirits and team unity are already reviving their new soccer home at South Kitsap.
Take one of the Wolves’ (4-0-1) most recent matches, a 5-2 Sept. 19 victory over defending 1B state champion Crosspoint High School. Underlying the score was a match in which Smalley and other teammates hit the turf more than a few times, the Wildcats’ defenses frustrating her with consistent shielding that teetered on the side of impeding.
Smalley refused to be outmatched and eventually found the breakaway space needed to get a clean shot off at the Crosspoint goal. She did not miss, giving her team a first-half 2-1 lead that would never be relinquished, and she quickly went right back to work.
It was that sense of urgency, the need to earn each touch of the ball, that felt lost within the SK program a year ago.
“I obviously wasn’t here last year, but I can already feel this team’s changed a lot, and we’re doing really well,” Smalley said. “We’re really working as a team now, and I feel like the coach picked for the team is working really well together.”
The Wolves came about as close to hitting rock bottom in 2023 as you can get. Their sole victory could just as easily have been a tie if not for a late penalty, and even that could not raise them above the bottom of the South Puget Sound League standings.
Coach Hailey Martin would depart the program after the season’s end, and the name of another local soccer figure was called to take her place.
“I’ve been living in this community for twenty years, and I just want to keep working with the girls,” Randi Gunyan said. “I’ve worked with some before, and the new ones I’m already seeing success with. I want to see this program be successful.”
Gunyan has been coaching in the community for well over a decade, including her most recent stint of six years at John Sedgwick Middle School. Her newest position would task her with rebuilding a program previously hindered by what she said were periods of drama.
If the first few matches of the new season have shown anything, it’s that the Wolves have managed to rekindle their fire thanks in part to Gunyan’s leadership. “You know, it’s about creating that unity and team bonding within the girls, and it’s showing on the field,” she said.
SK’s schedule up to that night was chock full of talented programs outside of the 4A classification including Crosspoint, 2023 1A runner-up Klahowya and a pair of 3A state qualifiers in Central Kitsap and Peninsula. Runyan hopes to keep the momentum going into the heart of SPSL play.
SK freshman Mia Smalley tries to work past a Crosspoint defender to reach the ball.
