By Oly Archibald
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Roughriders waited five years to beat North Kitsap in soccer — and they liked it so much, they did it again.
After snapping the streak with a 2–0 win in Poulsbo back on October 16th, the Riders turned around and blanked the Vikings once more — this time 1–0 in the District 3 quarterfinals last night.
North Kitsap senior striker Syleena Hogan, headed to Gonzaga and leading the Vikings with 18 goals, was the focus of the Riders’ defense. But it was Port Angeles freshman Emma Desjardins who stole the show — scoring her 20th goal of the season on a penalty kick just three and a half minutes into the second half for the game-winner.
Head coach Dan Horton had Desjardins shadow Hogan all over the field — from midfield to the goal box — forcing her into long-range shots easily handled by keeper Kennedy Rognlien. Rognlien who came up with eigth saves, some of the biggest of her career.
Roughrider Freshman Emma Desjardins on the KONP Newsradio post game show talked about and illustrated how she scored on her game winning penalty kick. Desjardins has 20 goals on the season.
It was a total team effort. Take your pick, Alward, Traband, Alton, Manson, Walton, Clark, Fricker, Ritchie, Rudd, Politika and Lancaster all made big defensive plays to keep the Viking sharpshooters out of the net.
Next up, the Roughriders face top-seeded and unbeaten Bainbridge Thursday night at 6:00 — a game you’ll hear live on KONP Newsradio.
Meanwhile, the Sequim Wolves fell 4–0 to that same Bainbridge team and will face North Kitsap in a loser-out matchup Thursday night in Poulsbo, also at 6:00.