Missed shots and injuries plague Tides soccer team

Team goes 1-5 in second half, needs win for district spot

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Gig Harbor Tides soccer coach Andres Lugo said his team has felt a “false sense of security” after losing three straight toward the end of the regular season.

Since going 3-0 in the Class Class 4A Narrows League Bridge Division, the Tides have gone 1-5, plus with a tie against the Stadium Tigers.

Two out of the first three teams the Tides played early in the season now have losing records. Their last three losses have come against teams with better records.

Injuries have been their Achilles heel this year, along with a retooled defense and failed scoring opportunities.

Before losing to the Olympia Bears 2-0 on the road last Saturday, the Tides’ previous two games were decided in the last five minutes of the match.

The same story was played out against the Central Kitsap Cougars, when the crowd sat on the edge of their seats with good buildups but even greater letdowns.

Gig Harbor (4-5-1 overall, 3-4-1 league) lost to Central Kitsap 3-2 in a close Narrows Bridge Division matchup that would have made their last league matchup not as crucial. Gig Harbor slipped to sixth place.

In the first half against Central Kitsap, the Tides threatened more and controlled the midfield. They took a 1-0 lead on a goal by senior forward David Whittaker with an assist by senior forward Saul Sharafinski.

Central Kitsap answered with a goal, followed by another score to make the match 2-1 heading into the second half.

With Tides senior captain Davey Miller out with an injury and their best player, Machael David, out because of a one-game suspension, Lugo made a couple personnel switches, including senior Eric Hastings to forward.

Bigger and stronger than his teammates, Hastings reacted nicely and scored a goal that tied the game, 2-2.

“Saul (Sharafinski) made a good slash and kicked the ball to me, and it bounced to the box and my back was toward the goal, and I just stuck my foot up and laid out for the bike kick,” Hastings said. “It worked out perfect.”

Lugo referred the move as a reverse volley, but it had the look of a mini-bicycle kick.

Hastings enjoyed moving up to the forward position but acknowledged that the backline has been hampered by injuries, and that’s where Lugo has needed him the most.

Later in the second half, Tides senior forward Nick Anderson had a one-on-one with the Cougars’ goalkeeper. But Anderson’s shot was snuffed as the ball flew directly into the keeper’s body for a clean block.

With less than four minutes left, Lugo said the Tides’ backline “fell asleep.” A Cougar player slipped by two Tides defenders and scored what ended up being the winning goal.

“The defense has to be ready for that,” Lugo said. “We lost discipline. We kept fouling after four minutes.”

Later in the postgame team huddle, he told his players: “You guys had that match. You played a good game. You had great buildup.”

The Tides had more opportunities and displayed more aggression toward the goal. However, the Cougars executed on one more play to determine the outcome.

Hastings said players can’t dwell on these types of matches.

“We have to keep our mindset,” he said. “You have to throw these ones away.”

Tides junior defender Tyler Arrington was on the backline when Central Kitsap scored the game-winning goal. He said the Cougars’ player was fast — and he took a nice shot.

“I thought we played well, but we couldn’t finish it off,” Arrington said. “So I guess it goes down in the loss column.”

Arrington said the team must finish its opportunities as they look to clinch a district berth.

Lugo added that the team must win games to build confidence.

“That’s what it’s going to take — another victory, to get them in the winning mode,” Lugo said. “It was a real blow to their confidence, because the match was within their grasp. We had opportunity after opportunity in front of the goal and we couldn’t put it away.”

Remaining schedule

In order to reach postseason play, the Gig Harbor Tides need to win. The following are the final two games of the regular season. Both are Narrows League matchups and are crucial to a playoff appearance:

Gig Harbor at Lincoln, 7 p.m. Tuesday (past press time). The Abes are 2-5-1 in league play.

North Kitsap Vikings at Gig Harbor, 5:15 p.m. Thursday. A win here could clinch a district berth and the sixth seed.