NK looks to capture state title after close calls the past few years

Published 1:30 am Monday, April 13, 2026

After falling short in the state championship game last year, the North Kitsap boys soccer team is currently 5-0-1, trailing only Bainbridge in the Olympic League so far this season.

The Vikings fell to Columbia River 4-1 in the state title game last season after beating Bainbridge in the semifinals on penalty kicks. NK and Bainbridge play in Poulsbo April 14 at 7 p.m. in a battle for first place.

Now, NK is looking to avenge last year’s state title loss with new faces and extra motivation to bring home a state title to Poulsbo after coming close the last three years.

“We just wanted to get there again,” senior Viking defenseman Bryan Montes De Oca said. “So we just knew we had to keep working hard…and keep it going.”

The Vikings have eight new faces on the roster this year, allowing seniors on the team to provide mentorship and guidance to the newcomers on the team. Ethan Peck, a senior forward, noted that before the season began, the captains on the North Kitsap team held a meeting discussing ways to motivate the new players on the team, instilling “core values” like passion and grit.

Some of the mentorship and learning for the newcomers on the team has to come from experience, with many on the team experiencing the Bainbridge-NK rivalry for the first time.

“I think like in the past years, we’re obviously the two strongest teams in the Olympic League,” Peck said. “Like, I’ve played with Cruz (Piland) at club [BIFC]… we’re just so close. A lot of our kids have players play on the club team. We all know each other.”

Bainbridge has been North Kitsap’s toughest opponent since they joined the Olympic League after coming down from 3A to 2A in 2023, going 3-3 against each other in that span.

NK head coach Greg St. Peter, who won the 2025 Washington State Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year award, wants the messaging to be clear to the new faces on the team – you need to “buy in” and earn everything.

“You know, the regular season is really there to prepare you [for playoffs],” St. Peter said. “That’s how we treat it. For us, it’s one game at a time, and we’re always playing against ourselves.”