KINGSTON — The girls varsity soccer game on Buccaneer Field Sept. 4 was physical. It was more physical than Kingston High School coach Craig Smith thought it would be.
But the game against King’s High School did not turn out in the Buccaneers’ favor.
With a final score of 5-0, the King’s Knights swept the Bucs on their home field.
Bucs goalie Emma Keeling had her work cut out for her, as King’s kept constant pressure on the goal.
The Bucs had little in terms of shots on goal, as the team spent most of the time defending.
Smith, however, does not believe the game Tuesday night is a reflection of the rest of the season. He said the King’s team is one of the better teams the Bucs will face.
“I want to believe this is the best Kingston girls’ team,” he said. Smith said the team shows intelligence and has gifted players. but the players need to build confidence.
Once the Bucs have a few more games under their belt, Smith said the team will be more effective.
“It’s not indicative of our season,” Smith said of the Tuesday game.
Along with building their confidence on offense, Smith said the team needs to utilize more of the field. Tuesday night, the Bucs stuck to the right (opposite the team benches) and hardly used the left.
The Bucs travel to Port Angeles Saturday to play in a non-league game. Junior varsity plays at 11:15 a.m. Varsity plays at 1 p.m. Smith expects Port Angeles to be athletic, but possibly not as physical as King’s. The team will train up to its second game of the season, which while not a league game, may be important.
Losing 5-0 in their first game did not do well for confidence, so the Bucs will look to turn things around against PA, Smith said.“We have to get that taste out of out mouths,” he said.
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Though the North Kitsap girls varsity soccer team lost its season opener as well, head coach Chris May said the team did “very, very well.” did “very, very well.”
The Vikes lost in a scramble at the end during the Sept. 4 game, May said.
“The girls’ effort was there,” he said.
Having only played one game, however, he said it was difficult to tell how the team will do this season. I’m looking forward to a good year,” he said.
North Kitsap plays Sept. 13 at home against Bremerton.
