South Kitsap salvages a draw at Olympic

Nearing the halfway mark of the season, the South Kitsap High School boys soccer team remains in the hunt for the top two spots in the Narrows League Bridge Division.

South Kitsap is one game behind league-leading Gig Harbor and a half game behind Shelton in the standings.

Based on the last two showings on the soccer pitch, SK coach Eric Bergeson said the team has some soul searching to do.

After opening the season 4-0, SK nearly entered this week mired in a two-game losing streak.

After losing at Gig Harbor more than a week ago, the Wolves nearly fell to a depleted Olympic team Tuesday night.

Trailing 2-0 in the second half, SK answered back with goals from Tyler Penn and Matt Hopper to tie the game 2-2, which is how the game ended.

Bergeson said he’s like to see his team play with more of a sense of urgency before actually needing to score urgently.

“We didn’t play hard and with intensity until after we were losing,” Bergeson said. “I think our guys were too relaxed and goofing off before the game.”

Bergeson said he’s talked to his players constantly about respecting each team they face no matter what the opponent’s record is.

Olympic played with just 11 players because of ailments, injuries, spring break vacations, and academic suspensions.

That didn’t deter the Trojans from busting out with a two-goal lead in the game.

The Wolves dominated ball possession in the game and outshot the Trojans 14-9, but it didn’t matter in the final score.

Bergeson said he thinks his team should have prevailed if it approached the game in a focused manner.

“At some point they need to realize that each team is a challenge and that they are ready for that challenge,” he said. “I can’t keep telling them the same things. They need to figure it out for themselves.”

SK ends the first half the season with home games against Bremerton (Tuesday) and Shelton (Thursday). Both games are at 5 p.m. at the SK football field.

Olympic’s Adam Reil opened the game’s scoring with a gorgeous free kick from about 18 yards out in the 28th minute.

Bergeson wasn’t so happy about Olympic’s second goal.

After Jared Stevenson blocked the initial shot from John Hoogestraat, SK’s defense fell asleep on the deflection and Reil cleaned it up for the Trojans’ second goal in the 44th minute.

SK answered back nine minutes later when Penn scored off an assist from Brendan Sweglar.

Konnar Kaio-Maddox fed Hopper a nice ball and converted it into a goal in the 71st minute.

Bergeson said he’s confident his team will “figure things out for themselves.

“We just need to take game day more serious,” he said. “We’ll keep getting better.”

Olympic coach Steve Haggerty said he wished his team could have held on to the 2-0 lead, which normally is enough for a win.

“The objective when we talked in the locker room was to get a positive point tonight,” Haggerty said. “I’m not pleased with the fact we were in a position to win and we didn’t do it. When you’ve got a team on the ropes you’ve got to go for the knockout punch.”

Sean Lamphere contributed to this story

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