Bucs give Bulldogs a run for their money

Published 3:55 pm Friday, October 24, 2008

POULSBO — The Buccaneers girls soccer team came within a smidge of defeating North Mason, the undefeated 2A Olympic League champs.

On Tuesday the Bucs hosted North Mason at the North Kitsap Stadium, and absolutely dominated the first half, leading 3-0 after 40 minutes.

Then the second half saw North Mason equalize the score, 3-3.

At the end of two five-minute overtime periods, the score remained knotted.

Although the game ended in a 3-3 tie, the Bucs won some much-needed confidence, especially as the young team is on the cusp of postseason soccer action.

“I’m hoping they’ve proven to themselves now they have the ability to play at the level needed to be successful,” head coach Craig Smith said. “The confidence of being effective should help us.”

When Kingston played North Kitsap on Oct. 2 the Bucs passing game was off. They passed too long, too short or to nobody at all. Earlier in the season they had difficulty marking the ball.

On Tuesday all the passing and marking challenges had dissipated.

But then again, that’s what they’d been focusing on in practice.

Smith said the Bucs have a history of trying to dribble through their passing game. He’s been encouraging them to make a penetrating pass to the forward’s foot, who can then drop the ball back to the middle forward who collects it while the rest of the offensive players move up to get numbers near the goal.

And they finally executed this style of play.

“We did that much better than in any game we’ve played so far,” Smith said of Tuesday’s contest.

The Bucs knew exactly where and to whom they were passing. They were quick on receiving the ball and getting it to a better-positioned teammate. They also hustled on the defense, breaking up North Mason’s momentum by forcing the Bulldogs to kick the ball out of play.

It was the improvement in their passing game that helped them tie North Mason, a team to which they’d previously lost 1-0.

“They believed in the game plan, attempted it and showed success which built confidence and therefore the momentum,” Smith said. “We really hustled.”

Kingston got on the board early as senior middle/forward Megan Antoni dribbled into the box, but two Bulldog defenders came at her and took her out hard.

The officials awarded Antoni a penalty kick, and she put it in.

Three minutes later Antoni took another shot, as NM’s keeper dove for the save. Sophomore forward Renee Henderson followed up and shot over the laying down goalie.

Shortly thereafter, freshman Tori Gerken got the ball to Antoni who was positioned in the right corner. Antoni cut back and came across to shoot with her left foot. It curved around the keeper and into the goal.

“It was a beautiful goal,” Smith said.

The second half belonged to the Bulldogs, as they scored three to tie.

Smith attributes overcompensation on defense by the Bucs for part of the turn around, as they gave up the middle, and North Mason is a strong and determined team.

“North Mason doesn’t lay down for anybody. They were very impressive for the comeback,” Smith said. “The coach at North Mason thanked me for the game. It was just what they needed, it was good for them.”

The game was also good for the Bucs as the tie made Kingston a stronger candidate for locking up the No. 3 2A seed for districts, as one point in overall standings is given for a tie.

The Bucs currently have a four point advantage over Sequim in overall team standings, and to 100 percent cement a trip to postseason Kingston needed to defeat Sequim, which they did, 3-1, Thursday evening at Sequim. The Wolves scored first at minute 31 and then Kingston tied it up the following minute as Alexis Ekonomakis scored off an assist from Jamie Schultz.

The game was tied 1-1 with only nine minuets left to play.

Antoni scored on an assist from Caitlyn Hatchel and Schultz polished off the goals.

The Bucs play Klahowya, which is No. 2 for 2A in Olympic League play, on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at Silverdale Stadium.