POULSBO – North Kitsap lacrosse players were not all that clear on what the score was until the end of the game.

That’s been a key part of the team’s success: “One possession at a time. No outcome thinking,” coach Joseph Bates said the day after his players defeated Columbia River 16-15 to advance to the Division II state lacrosse quarterfinals, May 14 in Vancouver.

“That was part of our mental infarction” earlier in the season, Bates said. “We had to get out of that.”

And so they did, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in the team’s 13 or so seasons of play. North, which finished the regular season 7-6-0, 7-7-0 and in third in the Narrows/Olympic Conference, next faces Metro Conference champ Seattle Academy (9-12-0, 10-4-0) at 5 p.m. May 17 at Genesee Park in Seattle.

North was down 8-4 in the second quarter to Columbia River (7-3-0, 7-4-0) of the Central-South Conference, but scored five unanswered goals to close the half with a 9-8 lead. North scored four in the third quarter to Columbia River’s three, and in the final quarter scored three and held Columbia River to four to preserve the win.

Derek Jacobson led the game in scoring with eight goals, as well as an assist and six ground balls. Kellson Arthurs contributed five goals and an assist and picked up 14 ground balls. Logan Cole, Daxton Solis and Riley Solis also scored.

In addition to those 16 goals, North tallied eight assists and 54 ground balls. Ian Poffenroth faced 27 shots and had 12 saves for a save percentage of .444.

“They all just hustled,” Bates said.

North is one of two remaining Narrows/Olympic Conference teams in the playoffs. Conference champ Klahowya (12-1-0, 14-1-0) defeated Inglemoor (4-10-0, 6-11-0, KingCo Conference) 10-9 on May 13 to advance to the quarterfinal vs. Richland (7-3-0, 13-4-0 Central-South Conference), May 21 at Klahowya.

Vashon (10-3-0, 10-4-0), which placed second in the Narrows/Olympic Conference and defeated North 12-5 and 14-4 in early season play, lost in the first round of the playoffs. SPSL Conference champ White River (6-5-0, 10-6-0) defeated Vashon 17-6 May 13.

There are seven conferences in Division II.

SCORING SUMMARY
North Kitsap 3, 6, 4, 3 = 16
Columbia River 5, 3, 3, 4 = 15

Derek Jacobson, NK, 8 goals, 1 assist, 6 ground balls; Kellson Arthurs, NK, 5 goals, 1 assist, 14 ground balls; Riley Solis, NK, 1 goal, 3 assists, 5 ground balls; Daxton Solis, NK, 1 goal, 0 assists, 15 ground balls; Logan Cole, NK, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 ground ball; Matt Dotterweich, 2 assists, 1 ground ball. Ian Poffenroth, NK, 12 goalie saves; Nick Frichtl, CR, 6 goals, 1 assist, 5 ground balls; Logan Hamilton, CR, 3 goals, 0 assists, 3 ground balls; Kyle Dieksen, CR, 2 goals, 0 assists, 3 ground balls, BJ Bisquera, CR, 1 goal, 6 assists, 1 ground ball; Cody Held, CR, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 ground ball; Gage McGarrity, CR, 1 goal, 0 assists, 2 ground balls; Blake Duhamel, CR, 1 goal, 0 assists, 0 ground balls; Bailey Ferguson, CR, 10 goalie saves, 3 ground balls.