GIRLS SOCCER | Prince propels Wolves to league title

SILVERDALE — The celebration began before the ball hit the back of the white net.

Senior forward Rachael Prince knew she hit the game-winning shot in the 78th minute to propel South Kitsap to a 2-1 win Wednesday night against Gig Harbor to claim the Class 4A Narrows League championship at Silverdale Stadium.

“I got a lot of adrenaline from the whole game,” said Prince, who was among nine Wolves honored on Senior Night. “I waited for the right moment and just went for it.”

That came when she took a feed from junior midfielder Kayleanna Quichocho and baited goalkeeper Auna Havens forward.

“I know I was pretty close to being offsides, but I had to hold that ball and time it exactly right,” Prince said. “I had to stagger a little bit just for the right time until she came out.”

South coach Julie Cain said she could not have scripted a better finish. Prince was among five seniors, including Adri Jackson, Hailey Parker, Elisa Randel and Hayley Romo, who have played on varsity all four seasons with the Wolves. Two other seniors, Kylee Platt and Natalie Stephens, also were called up to varsity during the 2011 playoffs.

“If there’s anyone on our team I would want on the ball at that point, it’s Rachael Prince,” Cain said. “She’s a gamer. She’s finished for us in the last two minutes of the game quite a few times in her four years here.”

Prince and her teammates hoped to celebrate Senior Night at Joe Knowles Field, but Cain announced Friday that rain rendered the grass field “unplayable.”

“It was pretty hard to know that we couldn’t play our last game on our home field,” Prince said. “It was pretty upsetting.”

Cain believes that was a factor behind the slow start for the Wolves (10-2-0 overall, 10-1-0 league). She also said the larger than normal crowd and different starting lineup were other reasons for the early struggles. The Tides (10-4-2, 6-4-2), who have won the last two league championships, scored first when freshman midfielder/forward Sophia Hatteberg took a cross from sophomore Leahi Manthei in the 10th.

“It took us 10, 15 minutes to get any sort of a rhythm,” Cain said. “They got a goal because of it.”

The Wolves responded in the 25th when Quichocho’s high, arching shot entered the goal just below the crossbar.

“We’ll take anything we can get,” Cain said, laughing.

Cain has praised South’s teamwork throughout the season. She said her favorite statistic is that 14 players have contributed to the team’s 32 goals. Jackson and junior midfielder Ari de la Cruz lead the team with five goals.

“Our team is getting in deep and they score,” Cain said.

Prince attributes that to the team’s chemistry.

“Something is different about this year,” she said. “We’re not just a team — we’re a family. We have a lot of power with the ball and just work off of each other.”

Cain also elected to return in August for one more season. She resigned during the spring in preparation for her third son, who was born in August. Cain said she still hopes to turn the program over to former Wolves’ standout midfielder Christina Boddie, who is a first-year assistant coach. But Cain said Boddie, who played two seasons at the University of Idaho, told her she might pursue a graduate degree.

“I’m not going to resign until I know what Boddie is doing,” Cain said. “I would love to transition it on to Christina Boddie. She’s been awesome this year and she’s so great with the girls.”

But that decision will come after the postseason. After Thursday’s regular-season finale at Yelm, South will host a to-be determined team Nov. 8 in the West Central District Tournament at Silverdale Stadium.

“I honestly haven’t looked,” Cain said when asked about potential opponents at districts. “I wanted to get through this game. Since I’ve been here, we haven’t beat Gig Harbor twice.”

Before South’s 1-0 win Oct. 2 at Gig Harbor, the program’s last win against the Tides came Oct. 5, 2010.

“The first one just gave us that confidence that we can do this,” Prince said. “We can show them that we are better than them if we put our minds to it.”

Both Cain shared similar sentiments.

“It’s so much better to win a fast-paced game on a turf field against a great opponent at the end of the game,” she said. “It’s time to make a memory here so we’ll remember that going into the playoffs.”