CK overcomes wind, rain, beats SK in opening match
Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 12, 2026
Central Kitsap’s boys soccer team persevered through windy and rainy weather to win their first match of the season, 2-0, on the road against South Kitsap March 11.
The match proved to be a challenge for both squads, with high wind gusts exceeding 30 miles per hour, along with heavy rain.
“We weren’t really [anticipating the weather],” Eli Paschal of CK said. “I mean, once we got here, we saw it, and we just really fought through it.”
Paschal scored the first goal of the match three minutes into the game, giving CK a 1-0 lead.
SK earned some scoring opportunities with 22 minutes remaining in the half, but couldn’t get their shots to find the back of the net, a theme that carried through the rest of the contest.
CK continued to generate shots on goal within the final ten minutes of the half, preventing SK from getting their own offense going. The score stood at 1-0 entering halftime.
Neither SK nor CK could get much of anything going within the first ten minutes of the second half.
But then Cougar Henry Dance scored a goal with 22 minutes remaining, giving CK a two-goal lead over the Wolves.
SK struggled to generate shots on goal in the second half, largely through committing turnovers over the middle of the field, and the high winds causing the ball to sail past players left and right, ultimately creating a difficult scenario for both teams to compete in.
“On a night like tonight, to be defensively disciplined and score in both halves and get the clean sheet shutout and for us to be able to push through, I think that’s the takeaway,” CK coach Patrick Leonard said.
