Bainbridge edges NK with 2nd half goals, stays atop league standings
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 15, 2026
The Bainbridge Spartans (7-0, 6-0 in Olympic League) got a little bit of revenge for last year’s loss to North Kitsap in the state semifinals, beating the Vikings (5-1-1, 4-1 OL) 2-0 April 14 in Poulsbo to stay atop the league standings.
The Spartans are currently the No. 1-ranked 2A team in the state, while NK is ranked 9th. The Spartans and Vikings have been fairly evenly matched the past few years since Bainbridge moved down to 2A in 2023, with both teams winning matches against each other.
“With the way the Olympic League has been going, it’s a nice little wake-up call for us to kind of see what we need to maneuver for the rest of the season,” Bainbridge head coach Mark Nowak said.
Neither team could get much of anything going for the first ten minutes of the match despite both teams earning corner kicks early.
Spartan Dana Goodwin got flagged for a handball in Viking territory, but the Vikings couldn’t convert the opportunity into a goal, keeping the match scoreless with 20 minutes remaining in the first half.
Bainbridge kept the ball in NK territory for a large majority of the final 15 minutes of the first half, beginning to take control of time of possession and limit Viking opportunities. The Vikings didn’t get the ball back into the Spartans’ territory until there were 2:16 remaining in the first half.
Spartan forward Isaiah Drovdahl drove the ball into NK territory within the first four minutes of the second half, but couldn’t get the ball to find the back of the net.
Spartan forward Cruz Piland had a one-on-one opportunity to put a goal in, but NK deflected the ball away, keeping the game locked at zero with thirty minutes remaining. Nonetheless, Spartan Elias Dugan put in the first score of the game with a goal from twenty yards out, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
Drovdahl quickly followed that up with another goal not even five minutes later, getting the Spartans out to a 2-0 lead, securing the victory for Bainbridge.
“It’s great to start off with a win on their home (turf),” Dugan said. “It’s good to get revenge for last year.”
