Wolves enter playoffs with momentum

After enduring a four-game winless streak, the South Kitsap High School boys soccer team will ride a two-game winning streak into the Narrows League playoffs this weekend.

The Wolves knocked off Central Kitsap Friday and followed with a win at home against Bremerton Monday on senior night.

SK (6-3-3 league) entered its game against Bremerton trailing second-place Olympic by one point and tied for third place with Port Angeles.

The top four teams in the Bridge Division advance to the league playoffs against the top four Bay Division teams.

While SK has clinched a playoff spot, it won’t know what seed it will go in as until today or tomorrow.

Unless Olympic and PA are swept by North Kitsap and Gig Harbor this week, SK coach Eric Bergeson said earning a No. 2 seed into the league playoffs is improbable.

But a No. 3 seed isn’t out of reach.

SK’s win against Bremerton and PA’s loss to Gig Harbor propelled SK into third place.

Because PA holds the tiebreaker over SK, it can clinch third place with a win at North Kitsap.

But a loss or a tie gives SK third place, which Bergeson said he’d prefer.

The Bay Division is led by top programs Stadium, Wilson, and Bellarmine.

If the Wolves end up as the No. 3, they will play Olympia instead of Bellarmine in a loser-out game.

But SK would play the winner of the Bridge No. 4/Bay No. 3 game — most likely Bellarmine — for a berth to districts.

“I’d much rather play Olympia than Bellarmine,” Bergeson said. “I don’t mean that as disrespect to Olympia because they beat us last year. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like nothing better than to end Bellarmine’s season. If we play Bellarmine, I think if we play our best game we’ll walk away with three points.”

Bergeson said his team is very talented when it plays within the game plan.

“I have confidence in my guys,” he said. “Any hardship we face is because of our inability to put away opponents we should have. If the guys will trust in the things that we’re working on we’ll be fine.”

Trust is what led to SK’s win at Central Kitsap, Bergeson said.

Jerad Kupietz notched both goals for the Wolves.

“I’ve been telling the guys to switch the field,” Bergeson said. “Both times we scored were quick counter attacks to the backside.

SK senior Nick Fletcher said the team knows what it needs to do on the field.

It’s just a matter of doing it.

“The game plan is to do what we have to do to win,” Fletcher said. “(At CK) everyone was real serious and we had our focus. We didn’t have that at North (1-1 tie). We played hard and everyone played their position.”

Bergeson said the defense has improved with the emergence of sophomore

goalkeeper Danny Phelps.

Phelps’ job has been helped by the sweeping duties of sophomore Robbie Robinson and senior captains Chris Kendall and Brandon Stacy.

“I really give credit to Brandon Stacy and Chris Kendall,” Bergeson said. “Their senior leadership has been there all year long.”

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