Knights pull off win in OT

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights soccer team had a close game against Naches Valley, where the Knights came out on top in overtime with a 3-2 victory.

“We’re still trying to figure things out,” said Knights head coach Jens Jensen. “We’re getting better, but we’re still making a ton of mistakes.”

The first half went back and forth between the two teams until late in the half, Naches Valley scored and the teams went into halftime with the Knights behind 0-1. Jensen said the team had to make some key adjustments before they went into the second half, such as keeping an eye on Naches Valley’s strong players and prevent them from scoring again.

In the second half, the Knights’ freshman players came up with a score after an assist from Lauren Wardenaar led to Briseydi Pacheco kicking the ball into the goal to tie the game at 1-1, which is where it stayed until the end of regulation.

Both teams held each other to zero goals in overtime, which led to the teams going head-to-head in a PK shootout to decide the winner. Goalkeeper Grace Soliz nullified a goal from Naches Valley with one of her own and Alejandra Orozco and Taylor Webb both scored goals as the shootout went to the sixth kicker to earn the 3-2 victory for the Knights.

“Overtime was a good thing for us,” said Jenson. “I would have rather won it on the field as opposed to from a penalty mark, but all things considered, a win’s a win.”

He said Soliz put up a great performance, especially during the shootout, as she made some key stops and negated a goal from Naches Valley that could have changed the outcome of the game.

Soliz said that there were some struggles for her early in the game.

“Honestly, the beginning was a little rough for me, I think my confidence just wasn’t (there),” she said. “We wanted to win so I just had to keep playing.”

Going into the second half, she helped the team make their comeback as she blocked any attempts from Naches Valley and helped push the team into overtime. During the shootout, she said it was important for her to stay calm and confident throughout.

The goalkeeper said that the greatest lesson for the team to take out of this game is to start strong and to persevere.

“Even if we’re behind and we’re struggling, we can’t keep the ball; we have to stick together as a team and if we know we can win then we can win,” said Soliz.

Jensen said moving forward, he wants the team to improve on their possession of the ball as that was a major struggle on Tuesday.

“Right now we’re just losing the midfield and it’s too chaotic and we have got to figure out how to be more intentional with what we’re doing,” said the coach.

The Knights’ next game will be on the road against the Wahluke Warriors today at 4 p.m.

BOX SCORE:

ROYL: 0-1-2: 3

NCHS: 1-0-1: 2

Knights Roster:

Player, Jersey Number

Bella Villafana, 2

Emerson Eilers, 3

Justine Fitzhugh, 4

Sharon Arroyo, 5

Emily Piercy, 6

Ingrid Ramirez, 7

Kamila Espino, 8

Taylor Webb, 9

Jill Allred, 11

Sophia Villafana, 12

Maggie Frank, 14

Alejandra Orozco, 17

Grace Soliz, 20/1

Hali Christensen, 21

Aurora Santillan, 22

Leah Christensen, 23

Lauren Wardenaar, 24

Kaylee Mendoza, 25

Briseydi Pacheco, 26

    Freshman Knights forward Briseydi Pacheco prepares to shoot a PK in the overtime shootout. With an assist from Lauren Wardenaar, Pacheco scored a goal in the second half to tie the game 1-1.
  

    Alejandra Orozco, a junior with the Knights, competes against Naches Valley players for possession of the ball in the midfield. Orozco contributed to the Knights’ victory with a completed PK in the overtime shootout.
  

    The Knights’ freshman Lauren Wardenaar races with a Naches Valley player along the sideline as she brings the ball toward the opponent’s goal. Head Coach Jens Jensen said the Knights are going to work on their ball possession in the midfield.
  

    Senior Emily Piercy with the Knights carries the ball along the midfield during the first half of the game against Naches Valley. Head coach Jens Jensen said the team had to make important adjustments during halftime in order to win the game.