Community Sports
Gig Harbor beats Peninsula again, this time for the district title
The Gig Harbor (16-1-1) girls soccer team remained red-hot and won the West Central District 3 championship over Peninsula (14-3-1), 3-1, on Nov. 7 at Mount Tahoma High School.
The Tides continued their winning ways with a convincing performance in a game that matched the state’s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked Class 3A teams in the WIAA RPI rankings.
It was the first time these two programs have faced each other with such high state rankings and spotlights our area as an established hotbed for soccer talent.
The Gig Harbor Tides celebrate their district championship on Thursday, Nov. 7. Photo by Larry Kalahiki
Two goals for Heikkila
The Tides opened the scoring when forward Karin Heikkila, who has been on a scoring tear all season, took a centering pass and sprinted past a Seahawk defender to create a one-on-one situation with Peninsula goalie Brooklyn Finch. Finch, who has excellent keeper skills, saw Heikila fire a low laser past her into the right side of the net for a 1-0 lead after 15 minutes.
The Seahawks had a chance to score a few minutes later off of a free kick from the side. But Tides defender Aejanae Humphrey timed her jump precisely at the right moment and deflected the ball off of her chest straight up in the air. Tides goalies Ella Conrad flashed in and made a soft catch of the deflection.
Humphrey, a center back, was effective cooling Seahawks forward Nora Sutherland. Sutherland scored four goals combined in two previous Peninsula playoff wins — three in a win over White River and another in a 1-0 district tournament semifinal win over Bellarmine.
The Tides play soccer much like the Showtime Lakers of the NBA in the 1980s. Quick. They fly down the pitch in waves with speed and one-touch advancing passes, but without selfish players who dribble too much while defense’s recover.
That speed gave the Tides their second goal of the half. They flooded the box with players and pinballed shots at goal until forward Elizabeth Hayes swatted a deflection into the net for a 2-0 lead at the midway point of the half.
Karin Heikkila scored two goals in Gig Harbor’s 3-1 win. Photo by Larry Larry Kalahiki
Sound the alarm
Coincidentally, at the moment of the goal a stadium fire alarm blared. An engine raced to the scene to find that the Tides were the only thing on fire. Gig Harbor scored its 23rd consecutive goal against postseason opponents without surrendering a goal up until that point.
Heikkila scored again before halftime. She V-cut a defender in front of the goal and received a pinpoint pass from senior Bailey Schroeder. Heikkila tapped it in to put the game out of reach at 3-0 with less than two minutes to go in the first half.
Heidi Tenzler scored for Peninsula during the 3-1 loss to Gig Harbor. Photo by Larry Kalahiki
Peninsula breaks GH’s shutout streak
The Seahawks came out of halftime determined and broke the Tides post season unscored-on streak when scrappy freshman forward Heidi Tenzler sent a deflected ball into the net midway through the second half that passed by Conrad, who had little time to react.
The Tides were never seriously threatened after that and raced onto the field after the referee’s final whistle to celebrate their 3-1 win and district championship. They should enter the state tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
It’s no shame for the Seahawks to lose to one of the most deep and talented teams the Tides have ever had. Their only losses this year are to No. 1 Gig Harbor and Class 4A South Kitsap on Sept. 10. Peninsula should also receive a very high seed into the 3A tournament and remains a dangerous squad.
Humphrey, the Tides’ aggressive defensive specialist, was all smiles after the win.
Gig Harbor senior Aejanae Humphrey clears a ball from her defensive zone during the 3-1 win over Peninsula. Photo by Larry Kalahiki
“I’m just a very competitive person, it’s in my blood. I want to win and play the best that I can,” Humphrey said. “But I care about everyone on this field so maybe I’ll give you a push and a shove but at the end of the day I’m gonna make sure you’re OK while also making sure that you don’t score any goals.”
What’s next
If Gig Harbor wins the No. 1 seed to state, they would advance to a second-round, loser-out game against the winner of a game between the No. 16 and 17 seeds on Nov. 15 at Roy Anderson Field. A win would put them into a game Nov. 16 at Roy Anderson. The state semifinals are Nov. 22 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
The story is much the same for Peninsula. The Seahawks should retain a high-enough seed to land them an opening home playoff game at Roy Anderson Field on Nov. 15, and potentially another the next day.