NK lacrosse squad falls to Bainbridge assault

POULSBO — The undefeated Bainbridge Lady Spartan lacrosse squad wheeled across the Agate Pass Bridge April 14 to renew the spring season rivalry with North Kitsap. The game began competitively back-and-forth, but once the Spartans spread their wings, they took off. Bainbridge flew to a lopsided 21-8 win, while NK is still keeping its collective feet on the ground.

POULSBO — The undefeated Bainbridge Lady Spartan lacrosse squad wheeled across the Agate Pass Bridge April 14 to renew the spring season rivalry with North Kitsap. The game began competitively back-and-forth, but once the Spartans spread their wings, they took off.

Bainbridge flew to a lopsided 21-8 win, while NK is still keeping its collective feet on the ground.

“The silver lining was that we racked up as many goals against them as the four previous teams had,” NK coach Val Torrens noted of the final score. “We can play with them, we just have got to finish the game.”

Bainbridge standout Colbi Brawner started the game by scoring a quick goal within the first minute, while NK’s initial offensive attempts were foiled.

But the North Kitsap attack did not relinquish and soon after, Bria Phillips tossed in the team’s first goal of the game. But Bainbridge was almost lightning quick to the other end of the field, providing for a Mariah Walk answer.

With the score tied, Bainbridge assaulted the NK defense, finding gaps to shoot, but Denita Santos was solid in the net in the early going.

“It’s always a filling out process,” Bainbridge coach Tami Tommila said of her squad. “One of our problems we’re having right now is how we’re playing in the first half — it takes us about 15 minutes to get in the game.”

Brenna Lander took advantage of a loose Bainbridge defense, driving to score another equalizer goal. Then Phillips connected with Camille Henry to give the Lady Vikings a 3-2 lead over the perennial powerhouse.

“What I wanted (the girls) to focus on was playing their best game,” Torrens said. “That’s the way I coach, I never look at the score, I’m focusing on the game and I wanna know the kids are playing their best game.”

Unfortunately for North at that point, despite its best efforts, the Lady Spartans picked up their game and took off on an 11-1 run to close the half with a 14-4 lead.

“We knew how to play (North) because they play zone defense. If you can get inside the fan that’s (it),” Tommila said, noting that BI had worked a specific offensive strategy for NK. “I thought (the Lady Spartans) worked really hard to create opportunities. It was good because other teams play zone in the league as well.”

The Spartan offense continuously crashed North’s zone defense with goal after goal as they orchestrated a fine-tuned attack.

In the second half, Bainbridge didn’t waste much time as Jane Baumgartner flung a goal out of a Spartan swarm in front of the NK net. Then Brawner gained entry into the middle and dropped an easy goal, starting the Sparts out with two straight goals after the break.

Despite the onslaught, North was not about to lay down. Sophomore midfielder Kelsey Krasas came up with back-to-back goals — two of her three total — trying to energize the NK squad, it just wasn’t enough as Bainbridge rode its momentum through the final whistle.

“The thing about our team is we fight, they always fight ‘til the end, we never give up,” Torrens said. “Our biggest thing to work on is consistency.”

Next up, North Kitsap will travel to Lakeside with game time set for 5:15 p.m. April 24. Then the team will be back in Poulsbo hosting Snohomish at 5:15 p.m. April 27.

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