Olympia moves up in Narrows League soccer

The Olympian

SILVERDALE - Losing a veteran teammate for the rest of the season brought a positive result on Olympia's soccer team Tuesday as the Bears used a strong start to defeat Central Kitsap 2-1 in a key Narrows League girls soccer match.

Olympia had been playing for two weeks without left back Jihan Grettenberger but was hoping that the senior would be able to return from a knee injury.

"We found out today that she has a torn MCL," Olympia coach Tessa Effland said. "This team has been through a lot of hardships since the beginning of the season. When they found out there wasn't a quick fix (for Grettenberger), they came out and fought it out with Central. I'm extremely proud of them."

Katie Kistler gave the Bears a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal in the 20th minute, and Natalie Daniels made it 2-0 in the 30th minute off a pass from Tina Schicchi.

Brandi Hamre pulled the Cougars within 2-1 with an unassisted goal in the 65th minute, but that's as close as Olympia let Central Kitsap get.

"It was a very big win, a good battle on the road," Effland said. "We bounced back from a tough loss last week to South Kitsap."

The loss dropped the Cougars to 3-2-1 in the Narrows League, while Olympia pulled past them at 4-1. The Bears face another tough game against Gig Harbor (4-0-1) today at Ingersoll Stadium.

Capital 2, Timberline 1

The Timberline Blazers defense did an effective job of shutting Capital forward Jena Russell down for almost an entire game.

"We kept her bottled up until the last 49.8 seconds of the game," Timberline coach Jeff Peltier said. "And that's what the great players do. They find a way to win."

Russell emerged from the box and shoved the ball past Timberline keeper Marrika Benson, whose 10 saves weren't enough to keep the Class 3A Western Cascade Conference's top team from losing.

"The whole game we were peppering the goal with kicks," Capital coach Devin Proctor said. "We were running out of time. Those are the kind of games you have to pull out."

Cecil Flores opened the game's scoring when she took a pass from fellow Cougar Mikaela Cox into the net. Tashie Kerr responded 12 minutes later in the 19th with a penalty kick score for Timberline.

"A heartbreaker for sure," Peltier said of his squad, which has a 2-4 league record. "This was maybe our best game of the year. Capital's at the top of the league and we're 1-1 with less than 50 seconds to go."

"I think the girls showed they have some character," Proctor said. And, Peltier might add, hard workers.

"They're a solid team. They work hard and are smart. Lots of seniors and you can't ever underestimate that poise and support. They find a way to win," Peltier said.

Tumwater 1, Black Hills 0

And the scoreless streak continues. Headed by goalkeeper Kelli Tokos and a stingy defense, not only are the Thunderbirds undefeated, they've yet to allow a goal in EvCo play.

When freshman Kelsey Lenherr lit up the scoreboard in the 42nd minute, Tumwater had all it needed in another dominating defensive performance that saw the Wolves get one shot on goal.

"Our defense is well-organized," T-Birds coach Lew Kittle said. "In 25 years, I've never had a team that went without being unscored on. They just don't let (scores) happen."

Black Hills (5-2 league) wasn't exactly a pushover in the continuation of this streak.

"They were really dedicated to good defense," Kittle said. "Their keeper (Katie Jones) came up with three fantastic saves. They should have been in the back of the net.

Tumwater rose to 7-0 in league play and 7-1-1 overall.

Shelton 2, Yelm 1

Yelm took the lead in the second half scoring first, but Shelton came back with two goals in the late in the game to win the Class 3A Western Cascade Conference match.

Ashley DeNio struck first for the Tornados.

"Yelm is a very difficult place to play," Highclimbers coach Brett Bartlett said. "They attacked as much as they could."

Brit Bowman tied the score for Shelton with 15 minutes left. And Nicole Green scored on a penalty kick when Bowman was fouled in the box with five minutes left.

Chehalis 7, Elma 3

Kiersten Abbott had three goals and an assists, and Marvella Mendez added a goal and two assists, as the Chehalis Bearcats took advantage of the young and inexpereienced Eagles.

"It's hard when you're young, but I like Elma," Chehalis coach Tino Sanchez said. "A lot of teams like that could just roll over and die, but they just kept coming at us. They didn't quit."

That sustained effort resulted in two goals and an assist for Eagles standout Jade Haas.

Chehalis improved to 4-3 in the 2A Evergreen Conference with the win, while Elma dropped to 1-6.

Volleyball
Gig Harbor 3, Olympia 2

The Olympia Bears tried to knock off 4A Narrows' finest in undefeated Gig Harbor but fell short in the fifth game, 15-10.

"It was very close at times," Olympia coach Laurie Creighton said. "There was a disparity in score by which team was taking turns in unforced errors."

Bears senior Rosa Gimson had 10 kills and three blocks while junior Nicole Mertens added nine kills, five blocks and went 19-for-20 serving with an ace.

"There were definitely a lot of changes and momentum," Creighton said. "We're learning things that we need to get better and that's valuable."

Tumwater 3, Elma 0

The Tumwater Thunderbirds were clicking on all cylinders when they beat the Eagles in an Evergreen Conference match.

Taking her turn serving late in the third game, Katrina McClaflin won the last 13 points - seven with aces - for Tumwater and secured the straight-games victory.

"She's a tough server," Tumwater coach Tana Croft said of McClaflin. "They were having a hard time returning. It was fun to watch.

"Our whole team is just doing a great job right now. We have a lot of people who can hit and a lot of people getting kills."

Black Hills 3, River Ridge 0

The Black Hills Wolves struggled a little early against the Hawks, but they were able to pull out the EvCo win.

"We were down 15-8 in the first game and fought back, made some changes and got the win in the end and that was good," Black Hills coach Kara Peterson said. "I'm pretty pleased. I thought the girls are learning. There's some things to polish, but we're taking some good steps forward."

Taking the early lead and playing the last game to 25-22, the Hawks put up quite a fight.

"They're playing better," River Ridge coach Robert Higashi said. "Black Hills is a good team. We look forward to seeing them again. The players all are slowly stepping up and that's helping the team grow."

But Black Hills was too strong.

"Maylee Berschauer played really great and served really, really tough," Peterson said. "Cristine Hilt made some nice adjustments on her outside hitting. She made adjustments that she wasn't making in the beginning of the year. Hillary Lutz went back to the serving line and ate them alive for a while."

Boys golf
Chehalis 210, Black Hills 214

The Wolves fell just five strokes short of their first win for the season as Chehalis' Calib Knutson and Tristan Wiseman shot a 39 and 40, respectively.

Junior Max Carter was the match medalist at Tumwater Valley with a 38 (2-over) but the Wolves lost by consistency when their lineup reached into the late 40s a player too short.

"We've been making progress this season," Black Hills coach Ken Coleman said. "This is our best team score. Hopefully, we'll peak in our next game."

River Ridge 215, Montesano 220

River Ridge's top golfer, Casey Adams, struggled in the Hawks' victory over Montesano.

"Hopefully it was weather related, and he'll be back in form next time," Hawks coach Gary Larson said of the match played at the par-36 Oaks Ridge Golf Club. Adams led the Hawks with a 3-over 39.

Justin Allenbaugh shot 37 for the Bulldogs.