The Capital girls soccer team caught fire for three second-half goals and shut out North Thurston 4-0 at home Thursday, Oct. 1.
Sophomore Rowan Rice-Sullivan, fresh off a four-goal game against Mount Tahoma on Tuesday, Sept. 29, was the first Cougar to find the back of the net against the Rams in the 16th minute. She scored off an assist from senior Pippin Crump.
Payton Vogt also netted a goal for the second game in a row, poking in the Cougars’ second connection off a rebound. In the final minutes, senior Ella Reeves laced a 20-yard direct free kick, and Alana English scored on a penalty kick.
Capital goalkeeper Eliza Gantenbein saved three shots in net.
Much of Capital’s game plan was to prevent North Thurston freshman Londyn McKenzie from taking the top off the defense, and head coach Adriana Montes was proud of her back line adjusting to her tendencies.
“Technically, she’s one of their best players,” Montes said of McKenzie. “I knew she would be targeted a lot. She put our back line in a lot of pickles, and we tried to accommodate. It was a very intense game. They left it all out on the field. This win was huge to show them the potential they have.”
North Thurston was held to five shots in the loss. The Rams are winless in their past six matches, with four losses and two draws.
“Obviously very disappointed with the result of the game. I don’t think the scorelines tells the full story of the game, but give credit to Capital for taking advantage of their chances,” North Thurston assistant coach Tristan Glaser said. “We’ve got plenty of soccer left to play, and hopefully we can learn and move on from this positively.”
Next up for Capital (6-3, 3-1 Puget Sound League) is a blockbuster matchup at home Tuesday, Oct. 6 against Gig Harbor (4-2, 4-0 PSL), a team that has won its four league matchups by a combined score of 28-2.
North Thurston (1-4-2, 0-3-1 PSL) will host Lincoln (0-5, 0-4 PSL) Tuesday night.
