The Orcas girls soccer team beat North Sound Christian on Thursday 6-1, scoring five of their six goals in the first half on a glowing fall day during Seniors Day at Orcas High School.
Coach Chama Anderson said, “North Sound Christian came out with a ton of energy and scored their first goal in the first five minutes of play. They were really strong, but we answered in the first half of the game, gaining control of the ball down the sideline and using many of the passing formations we had worked on over the last several weeks. We scored five goals in the first half. Grace Thompson made two of those scores, and Emily Diepenbrock had one as well. Diepenbrock also had an assist to Alison O’Toole. Diepenbrock sent a sweetly aimed pass to O’Toole, who barely touched it and vollied it in. O’Toole also scored on a penalty kick from the corner of the field.
What was really nice about that day was the fact that Maddy Smith, one of our senior players, had been out for several weeks with a stress fracture. It was the first game she’d been able to play in two weeks, and not only did she get to play but she also managed to get one in the goal from 25 yards out. Smith got slightly past the defender downfield from the net and popped a quick one off at a full run, and it went right under the cross bar and into the net, a beautiful well placed score. All three of our seniors played great, and more of the team got more playing time on the field which will just add to their overall experience and confidence.”
Coach Anderson continued. “The other team definitely had skill and talent, so it was a great confidence booster for my young people. We spent a great deal of the game, especially in the first half, threatening at goal in their territory. During the second half, it was more even and both teams spent time back and forth between the goals. We had maybe 23-25 shots on goal, and North Sound had around ten. Also Annalies Schuh, Tika Thorson, and Suzanne Mietzner saw more playing time and showed real heart out on the pitch, and a new student, Claire O’Neill also saw playing time. It was a great day for the team.”
The Orcas girls soccer team’s last season game is on Tuesday, Oct. 28 against La Conner. The soccer team is going to district play-offs with the first game on Nov. 4 to be a placement game that will determine team matches.The Orcas team will continue to play on Nov. 6 and 8 if they place in their division.
