RENTON — The North Kitsap girls soccer team ended its 2018 season the same way it ended its 2017 season — with a loss to Liberty in the state quarterfinals.

And it would not be surprising for the Patriots to capture the 2A state championship as they did last season. The Vikings played admirably, but Liberty prevailed 2-0 on Nov. 10.

“I think it was closer this year,” head coach Greg St. Peter said. “They, of course, are very, very skilled and stacked with a lot of talent.”

Much like last year, the two teams were scoreless at halftime, and the Vikings had defended the Patriots, who dominated time of possession, extraordinarily well. But an unlucky bounce changed the course of the match.

In the 44th minute, a shot that bounced off a couple pairs of legs rolled into the net. Freshman Liv Teyes was credited with the score.

Sophomore Reese Tappan added a late second half goal.

“There was definitely an improvement from last year,” St. Peter said. “We were more familiar with them. At that level, you know what we’re going to be facing and we did do a much better job.”

North Kitsap finished the year with a 13-6-1 record, winning a share of the league championship and placing second at districts. The program graduates five seniors in Mia St. Peter, Alaina Marcotte, Jamison Jacobson, Isla Lester, Lily Kinyon and Chloe Hoepfinger, but a large and talented junior class should help the Vikings back to a similar position next season.

There’s no reason we can’t finish in the top two or win again,” St. Peter said. “I think we’ll be in pretty good shape.”

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