By MADI MCPADDEN
Girls soccer team manager

The Wolverines varsity soccer team faced off on Saturday afternoon in a non-league game against Port Townsend. The Wolverines did not quite anticipate the aggression of their opponent but quickly reciprocated.

The girls started off the first half playing mostly defense, with established players Maggie Andersen and Larissa Nash holding their flat four formation strong. A well-placed goal by the Port Townsend offense came at the end of the half in the 40th minute.

The girls came back onto the field at the beginning of the second half with new strength and were quick to challenge the ball. Senior midfielder Elle Guard injured her ankle in the first 10 minutes, putting one of Wolverines’ strongest players at rest for the game. As a result, however, the girls came back hard and proved once again to be a second-half team.

With a new determination, midfielder Hannah Starr wowed both teams with her quick aggression and agility and frustrated many of Port Townsend’s attacks on goal. The Wolverines continued to play with intense pressure but could not seem to find the net. The game ended 0-1, but not without a tough Wolverine fight to the end.

The girls played well and worked hard at moving the ball up and across the field throughout the entirety of the game with lots of good communication and effort.

Just off the ferry and full of excitement, the Wolverines junior varsity team also got a chance to play against Port Townsend, stepping out together for the first time as a team.

The first half of the game, the JV girls took countless shots on goal, but ended the half tied 0-0. The girls started out the second half with a bang, with freshman Katie Lanphere putting one into the back of the net in the 41st minute with a quick assist from Sofie Rask.

The JV kept up the intensity, with four goals. The second goal of the game came from an unassisted Robyn Roberts in the 56th minute. And five minutes later, freshman Jacklyn Justiniano took an assist from sophomore Kiah Williams, making the score 3-0. Goals four and five came in the 65th and 69th minutes, with Roberts scoring her second goal of the game with an assist from Rask and freshman Emily Guard kicked one into the back of the net with uncanny precision.

The Port Townsend squad rallied for a goal in the 71st minute, but Rask finishing off her game record at one goal and two assists, scored in the final minutes of the second half, finalizing the score at a dominant 6-0.

Next: The varsity Wolverines (1-1) travel to Orcas Tuesday. They host Evergreen Lutheran at noon Sept. 18.