“BREMERTON – For a few minutes, at least, the Bremerton Knights gave the North Kitsap Vikings girls’ soccer team a scare. The Vikings, already winners of four games this season, found themselves in a hole due to a quick score by Bremerton, and it was almost the end of the second half before they dug themselves out on the way to a 4-1 victory. The Vikings met the 2-2 Knights on Bremerton Memorial Field Thursday Night, and the Knights struck quickly. Alisha White, dressed in Bremerton yellow, kicked a pass to cutting Azzize Smith, who tumbled into the goal as her shot made it past North Kitsap’s Mercedi Smalley. The shot was made in the second minute. For minutes after the goal, the Vikings’ shots sailed wide, their passes were a few feet too long or too short. But they finally managed to make a goal later in the first half. Lindsey Ross kicked a ball ahead to Marie Moore. Moore, just in front of the goal, kicked the ball to the left. The diving Knight keeper went right, and the goal was good. It was Moore’s first goal of the season, and later she said, The first thing I looked at was to see if the ball went in. From there the Vikings’ play improved, as their passes became more crisp, their attack more fluid. As they kept the ball away from the Knights, Smalley found herself with less and less to do in goal. North surged ahead with their second goal of the first half. Lindsey Rarick, stationed on the left side of the Knights’ net, fired a shot that ricocheted away from the keeper and returned to her feet. Rarick fired again, and this time it found the net, giving the Vikings a 2-1 lead, which they took into halftime. The second half saw the Vikings earn two more goals. The first was created by the feet of Lydia Ramsey, who kicked a pass to a wide-open C.J. Shelkin, streaking down the right side. Shelkin cut in front of the goal and booted the ball in for the third goal of the night for the Vikings. The Vikings’ final goal of the night came in the 67th minute. This one came from the left side of the field, and Rarick again figured into the scoring. This time she assisted, passing a ball to an attacking Ashley Davis, who fired the shot into goal to make it four goals for North Kitsap. The score at the end was 4-1, leaving North Kitsap with a 4-1-1 record. Coach Teri Ishihara said The first few minutes were scary, but they settled down. I thought they played very well, she said. She said the team passed well – something other coaches compliment them on, and did a good job of penetrating the Knights’ defense. Mariah Hanson did a great job of neutralizing Bremerton’s dangerous forwards, Ishihara said. And the team’s two Smalleys, Shannon and Mercedi, also played well, Shannon by clearing the ball out of the defensive part of the field, Mercedi by allowing zero goals in the last 78 minutes of the game. “