Soccer Roundup: North Kitsap, Central Kitsap, Bremerton all suffer defeats in the first round at districts

PARKLAND — The Vikings had all the momentum on their side as they entered the second half of their first round district game against Foss.

But the Falcons opened the second half with two goals in the first six minutes, turning the tide and ultimately eliminating North Kitsap, 3-2, in the first round of the 2A West Central District III tournament.

Foss had the wind at their backs in the second half, and it gave a little extra juice to a free kick that found its way in from 30 yards out and a solid cross that a Foss player managed to deflect into the net.

“That really changed things,” St. Peter said.

The Falcons had opened the scoring in the 19th minute, but the Vikings answered quickly.

Four minutes later, the game was level as Jack Thompson’s long free kick found the foot of Ryan Anderson who was able to direct the ball into the far corner of the net.

In the 27th minute, Samuel Van Loon Rojas made a great pass across the field to Wyatt Murphy, who took the ball in stride and buried a shot to give North Kitsap the lead.

Everything was going their way, but after Foss’s two goals, the Vikings spent the final 34 minutes trying to tie the game again.

The closest opportunity was a free kick near the edge of the box in the 72nd minute that was cleared away by the Foss keeper.

“It was especially tough for our seniors … going to state every season,” St. Peter said. “Those kids definitely deserved to go farther for what they’ve done.”

Renton 2, Bremerton 1

PARKLAND — The Knights overcame a slow start to tie their opening round match against Renton with 15 minutes to go, but a controversial late goal sealed their fate, ending their playoff run.

Abdulahi Mohamed’s third minute goal put a young Bremerton squad behind the eight ball early. They had a rough go of it, looking disorganized and passive as Renton kept possession of the ball.

“They were just afraid,” head coach Randy Lund said. “They were tentative, and they didn’t play their game.”

Bremerton’s goal started with Alex Mejia’s long throw-in. As the ball bobbled around the front of the Renton net, Raul Islas-Barojas eventually pounced on it and scored to tie the game. The Knights had been trailing since a third minute goal by the Indians.

Eight minutes later, Islas-Barojas was dribbling the ball up the field when his legs were taken out from underneath them. Expecting a foul call, Bremerton slowed down, but Renton did not. The referee never blew his whistle and Mohamed picked up the loose ball and fired a strong shot from about 20 yards out to put his team ahead.

Bethel 2, Central Kitsap 1 (OT)

Dom Murray gave Central Kitsap a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second half, but Bethel stormed back to tie the game with ten minutes to go.

The Braves then scored in the first overtime period to eliminate the Cougars from the first round of the 3A West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament.

Klahowya, South Kitsap begin district play Tuesday

There are still two Kitsap soccer teams playing in the postseason.

South Kitsap, by virtue of its 1-1 tie against Rogers on Friday, earned the No. 5 seed from the South Puget Sound League 4A —the same seed the Wolves got last year and then ended up hosting a first round 4A state tournament game after defeating Decatur and Federal Way.

The Wolves open play against either Kent Meridian or Todd Beamer at 5:30 p.m. at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

Klahowya, the Olympic League 1A champions, will take on Bellevue Christian at 6:30 p.m. at Integrity Stadium (formerly Silverdale Stadium).

— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.