Cougs edge Oly in Bridge race

“One. Two. Three. COUGS!”

“Is that a statement?”

“Oh yeah.”

That was the dialogue between the Central Kitsap Cougars girls soccer team and coach Vicky Webb after the Cougs edged Olympic 1-0 Friday at Silverdale Stadium.

But this match had more than pride on the line, as CK and Oly remain in the hunt for a Narrows League Bridge Division playoff spot.

With the win, CK improves to 6-4-4 overall (6-3-3 in the Bridge). Oly is now at 7-6-1 (6-5-1). North Kitsap lies in between them at 7-5-2 (6-4-2).

In terms of points, CK is sitting in third with 21 points, NK in fourth with 20 and Oly in fifth with 19. The top four teams go to the Narrows League playoffs.

Gig Harbor and South Kitsap remain the top two Bridge teams. NK played SK Monday, but results were unavailable at press time. Regardless, today’s 6:45 p.m. battle between the Vikings and Olympic in Poulsbo will likely decide which team will advance. The Narrows League playoffs begin Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Kim Kummer scored the match’s only goal in the 24th minute on a rather crazy series in front of the Oly net. Central Kitsap’s Risa VanAntwerp put up a hard shot in front of the net, but Olympic goalie Pepper Fanua was able to bat the shot away. Cougar Bethany Daniel was right there however, but her shot with Fanua off guard was booted out by Oly defender Jamie Kearney in a heads-up defensive play.

But the third time was a charm as Kummer was able to boot the next rebound through for the game’s only goal.

“It was everything to us,” Webb said of the win. “Losing to them the last time was very hard for the girls. They don’t like to lose, especially to Oly.”

Olympic coach Steve Haggerty said he had hoped his team would play with the same intensity that they did against South Kitsap in earning a 1-1 draw last week.

And while Oly had some strong opportunities in the first half, the Trojans couldn’t get flowing in the second.

“I don’t think we were ready to play,” Haggerty said. “The fact was evident in not taking a shot in the second half.”

Defensively, the teams were evenly-matched, battling back and forth to keep each other off kilter.

“We played well defensively, we just didn’t have that burst of speed that was evident (against South Kitsap),” Haggerty said. “Playing two games in a row is tough, but it’s no excuse. CK also played a tough opponent (Thursday).”

CK’s Brandi Hamre, who had a very strong game once again for the Cougs, said it was nice to avenge Sept. 20’s 2-1 loss to the Trojans.

“It felt good. I definitely wasn’t ready to lose to them again,” Hamre said.

Part of the reason the Cougs came out rolling was because the team has

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