Eagles set for Eatonville districts rematch

Olympic taking on Sumner today in Lacey.

By AARON MANAGHAN

Sports editor

If this week’s rematch with Kingston was any indication, the Klahowya girls soccer team is ready for a battle with Eatonville, a rematch itself from a non-leager earlier this season.

Klahowya (11-4-1, 6-1-1 in Olympic League play) knocked Kingston out of the postseason with a 2-0 win on Tuesday.

Sierra Cook scored her 24th goal this season in the first half, while Anna Stewart scored on an assist from Jenna Whetsel in the second half to round out Klahowya scoring.

But far more important was avenging Klahowya’s early-season loss to the Bucs.

“We were hoping to play them better the second time,” Klahowya coach Troy Oelschlager said. “We just played a lot harder.”

The loss also ended Kingston’s season, while locking up the 2A Olympic League crown for the Eagles. Oelschlager said that extra motivation might have had something to do with the convincing nature of Tuesday’s win.

“I think the girls need a little motivation to bring that intensity out of ‘em,” he said. “Knowing we could knock Kingston out of the playoffs was motivation.”

The win also gives the Eagles extra momentum heading into the 2A West Central District Girls Soccer Tournament, which Klahowya is hosting. The Eagles take on Eatonville in the 1 p.m. game at Silverdale Stadium. A battle between Fife and North Mason, which claimed the Oly League’s No. 2 seed over Kingston, will precede it at 11 a.m.

In the first game between Eatonville and the Eagles, the Cruisers topped Klahowya 3-1 on Sept. 13.

“That was one of the reasons we scheduled them for that game,” Oelschlager said. “I had a feeling we’d be seeing them in the playoffs.”

Now, Oelschlager and the Eagles are hoping they can repeat their rematch success like they did against Kingston this week.

“We’re pretty similar teams this year,” Oelschlager said of the Cruisers. “If we can shut down their speed, kind of maintain that, we should be OK.”

Regardless of what happens, Oelschlager said his girls were very excited to claim the 2A Oly League title.

“They were,” he said. “We’ve been building it up. And we knew how strong Fife was and we did not want to play them.”

While the Eagles are confident they can win and advance to state (a win and a Fife win would send the Eagles in as the No. 2 seed, while a Fife loss and KSS win would make them No. 1), Oelschlager said everyone is maintaining focus for the game at hand.

“I don’t think we’ll be looking ahead at all,” he said. “Because we already lost to Eatonville once, we know what we’re up against. We’ll have no problem with the girls thinking about the state tournament yet.”

Olympic

The Olympic girls soccer squad will try to overcome district losses in recent years when the Trojans take on Sumner today at 1 p.m. at South Sound Stadium in Lacey.

The winner will be the No. 5 seed into the state tournament.

Central Kitsap

The Central Kitsap girls soccer squad, usually a staple at the district tournament, got eliminated in Narrows League postseason play on Monday, falling 2-1 to the rival South Kitsap Wolves in overtime.

After SK’s Courtney Brown scored on a assist in the 30th minute, CK struck back as Brandi Hamre found the back of the net in the 47th minute, knotting things up at 1-1.

But in the second overtime, in the game’s 90th minute, SK’s Katie Anderson scored to end CK’s season.