Wolves roll on with Shdo

Despite having lost its coach for one game because of a controversial red card 48 hours earlier, the South Kitsap High School girls’ soccer team rolled to a 3-0 win at home against Olympic Thursday behind the coaching of assistant coach Jason Shdo.

In a strange culmination of events to the earlier game against Shelton, SK coach Eric Bergeson was dealt a red card and the game was abandoned by the referee with SK holding a commanding 5-0 lead with 2:54 remaining to play.

Prior to Bergeson’s ejection and the halting of the game, the referee had handed out two yellow cards to SK players, who hadn’t committed any infraction worthy of a yellow card.

Bergeson asked for an explanation from the referee but the conversation escalated and, without any warning, the referee gave Bergeson a red card.

When Bergeson started to walk off, he remembered he needed to formally log a protest, so he went to the line judge and informed her he was filing a protest.

The referee bolted over and told Bergeson to leave “because he was badgering the line judge.”

The conversation grew heated again and that’s when the referee stopped the game.

A stunned crowd of 300 for free t-shirt night, stood in disbelief.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” senior midfielder Sarah Burt said. “It was so weird.”

Robinson said she felt terrible about what transpired, but maintains she was given a yellow card unfairly. “I felt that was the stupidest yellow card I’ve ever gotten,” she said.

Robinson said she loved the way the team played. “We played really good in the second half and we deserve that win and the points,” she said.

Some players and personnel thought there was a possibility the team might have to play Shelton again instead of being awarded the win.

“If we have to play them again, we’re going to play just as hard and we’re going to beat them just as bad,” Robinson said.

At first it was thought to be a forfeit, but the referee told Shdo it was not a forfeit.

A decision on the matter from Narrows League athletic directors should come by Monday.

The three points for a win will be critical for SK because without the points, SK will not have a chance for first place when it concludes the regular season at first-place Gig Harbor on Monday at 3:30.

But if the win stands, SK would enter the game one point behind Gig Harbor, making it a winner-take-all matchup.

The Wolves passion carried over Thursday against Olympic in a game SK thoroughly dominated.

Shdo said he didn’t like the girls’ attitude prio to the game.

“I think they were not focused like I would have liked them to be,” Shdo said. “So I had them run a couple of sprints and it seemed to work. They seemed to be relaxed and poised on the field. It was a real team effort.”

Robinson started the scoring in the ninth minute with an impressive left-footed shot off the outside of her foot.

With just over a minute remaining in the half, Stephanie Solarek crossed a 20-yard indirect to the left side where Lauren Kruzner settled the ball and drilled it in the goal to give SK a 2-0 lead.

SK’s Lauren Gehring added an insurance goal in the second half to seal the victory.

Shdo said he enjoyed winning his varsity debut, but said it was the girls who won the game.

“A number of girls rose up for the win today,” he said. “They showed team leadership out there.”

Shdo said this week may be the turning point that rallies the team closer together for the rest of the season.

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