POULSBO — Things were going so well for the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats in their 2A state opener, even the goalkeeper got in on the scoring.
Natalie Robinson spent the first half in goal, and scored one of her own in the second half as Archbishop Murphy defeated Kingston 5-0 Wednesday night in a 2A state playoff game at North Kistap Stadium.
“We lost a little depth at striker so we tried different people and we came up with Natalie as our backup to (striker) Tena (Ungvarsky),” said Archbishop Murphy head coach Michael Bartley. “She’s an excellent goalkeeper — we have great goalkeeping that’s one of our strenghts. It gives us on opportunity to play Natalie in the field and Crissy (Talley) in goal.”
It was Robinson’s second goal of the season.
Ungvarsky got the scoring underway in the second minute for the Wildcats who marched the ball downfield on the opening kickoff. Claire Feeney, Sammi Conard, Katie Kelleher and Robinson also netted goals for Archbishop Murphy (20-1).
The Wildcats move on to play Bellingham, 4-3 winners over Ridgefield Tuesday night, in a quarterfinal at 2 p.m. Saturday at Civic Stadium. It will be the third time this month that the two teams square off, with Archbishop Murphy having beaten the Red Raiders 1-0 in the first round of the district tournament and by the same score in the third/fourth-place game on Nov. 9.
“We’re fairly confident but they’re a very good team from a very tough league,” Bartley said. “They can bring us a good game. Both games were real close. But I’m very proud of my team. We’re playing really well right now.”
At North Kitsap Stadium
Goals—Katie Kelleher (AM), Natalie Robinson (AM), Sammi Conard (AM), Claire Feeney (AM), Tena Ungvarsky (AM). Assists—Gabrielle Ducheane (AM), Conard (AM), Ungvarsky (AM), Kristi Bartz (AM), Taylor Herrera (AM). Goalkeepers—Archbishop Murphy: Natalie Robinson, Crissy Talley. Kingston: Emma Keeling, Lexi Alfone. Records—Archbishop Murphy 20-1 overall. Kingston 13-7.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.