Cats kick their way out of mini slump

"Oak Harbor girls soccer coach Guy Barber was a little worried this week. When the Wildcats tied Kamiak 1-1 on Tuesday — the same Kamiak team that Oak Harbor defeated 6-0 earlier in the season — it was apparent his team wasn’t finding the flow as it did just a couple weeks ago. The Wildcats found it Thursday, as Oak Harbor defeated Marysville-Pilchuck 3-1 at Memorial Stadium."

“Oak Harbor girls soccer coach Guy Barber was a little worried this week.When the Wildcats tied Kamiak 1-1 on Tuesday — the same Kamiak team that Oak Harbor defeated 6-0 earlier in the season — it was apparent his team wasn’t finding the flow as it did just a couple weeks ago.The Wildcats found it Thursday, as Oak Harbor defeated Marysville-Pilchuck 3-1 at Memorial Stadium.Brooke Severns scored two goals and Molly Bull added a score. Theresa Black provided two assists, while Riley Gamble added an assist as well.While the Wildcats (4-1-2 in league, 8-1-2 overall) didn’t blow the Tomahawks away, they did play a solid, efficient game of soccer.“It was a good win for us,” Barber said. “We’ve been pressing too much lately. Our spacing was better tonight.”Oak Harbor’s crisp passing game was on display for all three goals against Marysville-Pilchuck. The first came with 22:00 left in the first half when Black provided a perfect leading assist to Bull, who used her speed to break free and take a long shot from the left side, up and over the goalie and into the net.Black provided the assist on the Wildcats’ next score, which came at the 6:30 mark of the first. She fed a pass to Oak Harbor freshman Brooke Severns, who made a quick pivot and boomed in a left-footed goal from the center of the field.The score was 2-0 at half time, and the Wildcats wasted little time adding to it. On the opening possession, Oak Harbor took the ball down the field and scored in just 20 seconds. Severns turned in a near carbon copy of her previous score, this time on an assist from Riley Gamble.Nikki Gamble, who scored Oak Harbor’s only goal against Kamiak earlier in the week, played a solid game for Oak Harbor, dishing out accurate passes. But the Wildcats appeared to relax after gaining a 3-0 lead, and the Tomahawks’ Julie Stachelski scored a goal 10 minutes into the second half. That’s when Oak Harbor’s defense turned up the pressure. Goalie Jessica Jensen turned in several saves, including one aggressive block in the second half. Julia Phay, Lindsey Jackson and Susan Asmus also played strong defense.The Wildcats play at Shorecrest on Tuesday.Oak Harbor 3, Marysville-Pilchuck 1Goals—Marysville-Pilchuck: Stachelski. Oak Harbor: Bull, Severns 2. Assists—Marysville-Pilchuck: Hopp. Oak Harbor: Black 2, Gamble. Goalkeepers—Marysville-Pilchuck: Coyne. Oak Harbor: Jensen. SoccerKamiak 1, Oak Harbor 1Goals—Oak Harbor: Gamble. Kamiak: Puckett. Goalkeepers—Oak Harbor: Busic and Jensen. Kamiak: Good.”