Bainbridge learns from opening loss to CK

By Nicholas Zeller-Singh Bainbridge Island Review • September 7, 2022 1:30 am

The Bainbridge Spartans girls soccer team kicked off its season against the Central Kitsap Cougars, and although the Spartans lost 3-0 they took the loss as a chance to learn.

“It’s the first game of the season so that’s tough,” coach Katie Drovdahl said. “Our challenge as the coaches is how do we find the right places to put people, and how they can play well with each other. We are going to try some things to see how we can play together, and it will take a little to settle in.”

The Spartans came out sluggish, giving up two early goals when failing to clear the ball after goalie Megan Hauschild made the initial save. In addition, Bainbridge struggled to control possession in the midfield and attacking third. The Spartans were being beaten to nearly every ball because of a lack of physicality. However, the second half showed a different Spartans squad.

“The second half was much stronger,” Drovdahl said. “We made some changes at halftime and looked to possess the ball more and have some more composure. We looked to move off the ball and we did all that much better in the second half.”

The outside backs and wings were able to push the ball up the sidelines. In addition, captain Savannah Mabee had a penalty kick with 14 minutes remaining. However, her shot fell into the arms of CK goalie Rachel Remnet.

“A lot of our chances were unlucky,” Drovdahl said. “It’s early in the season, and penalty kicks can go either way. I thought Savannah showed a lot of leadership by being the one who wants to step up and take that while trailing 2-0.”

Drovdahl hopes the team can use the loss as a message to be ready to compete at the first whistle.

“They took away that we don’t want to be a second-half team,” Drovdahl said. “They know they need to come out and be ready to compete. We could schedule easier games, but we want to get these 3A games in because we are a 3A team that plays in mostly a 2A league. The preseason gets you ready for the season, and the season gets you ready for the playoffs.”