Bucs stumble en route to playoffs

KINGSTON — Despite losing its final regular season game, the Kingston High School girls soccer team is headed to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

The Buccaneers (6-4-2 league, 6-6-3 overall) finished the season as the No. 2 seed in the Olympic League 2A division, behind Klahowya, who handed the Bucs a 4-0 loss Tuesday.

“It was odd. I thought we played them way better than last time, when it was a 0-0 tie,” Kingston Head Coach Craig Smith said. “I thought we actually attacked better than last time we played them, too. But we never really got inside.”

The Eagles (7-1-3 league, 9-1-3 overall) dominated possession for much of Tuesday’s game, controlling the ball and outshooting Kingston, 15-5. Smith said his team has been trying to improve their passing game, to set up more opportunities for better shots on goal.

“I was hoping we were going to build on our possession play,” Smith said. “We’ve had trouble shooting.”

Kingston’s first district playoff game will be Nov. 5, at Buccaneer Field. In that match, he Bucs will most likely face Eatonville High School, the No. 3 seed from the Nisqually League.

Kingston stuck with the Eagles for the first half of Tuesday’s game, holding off nine Klahowya shots before the intermission. But in the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Eagle offensive became too much for the Buccaneers. First came a high-arcing shot from Klahowya midfielder Ruthie Hawley, in the 44th minute, which nicked the crossbar on its way into the net for the Eagles’ first goal. Four minutes later, freshman midfielder Brittany Robinson got into the scrum just yards from the goal and knocked one in from the left side. Robinson added the Eagles’ third goal just two minutes later, when she lobbed a shot just out of goalkeeper Sarah Nash’s reach from 15 yards out.

Throughout the rest of the second half, the Bucs continued to struggle on both sides of the field. Klahowya kept the pressure high on offense, and in the 69th minute scored again on a breakaway by junior Rocki Winkler.

Kingston plays Klahowya one more time before playoffs begin, in a non-league match Nov. 3 in Silverdale. Aside from that friendly game, Smith said the Bucs are looking forward to some down time prior to the playoffs.

“We’re going to continue some basic fitness. But we’ve also got to heal some wounds,” Smith said.