Two 2-1 defeats at the hands (and feet) of two strong league foes last week left Sequim’s Wolves with a 4-8 record in the Olympic League and overall.

Port Angeles got a goal and an assist from freshman Mariah Traband and held on after Sequim scored with three minutes left for a 2-1 victory at Wally Sigmar Field on Oct. 22.

Port Angeles coach Daniel Horton said the Roughriders expected Sequim to make a late push with the Riders clinging to a 2-0 lead for 27 minutes.

“We knew they weren’t going to just give up,” Horton said. “We were putting a lot of pressure on and played up a little too far. They played a good ball through. Give credit to them,” he said.

It was the second one-goal game between the Olympic Peninsula rivals this season. The Riders beat the Wolves 3-2 earlier in the year.

“I loved how we played in the last 10 minutes,” Sequim coach Haley Sue Freeman said. “I was proud of the push we made at the end. We needed that the entire game.”

Port Angeles had a couple of point-blank free kicks but those were their only serious scoring chances until the Riders’ Morgan Politika finally broke through with a goal in the 38th minute with the assist going to Traband. Traband had a golden opportunity to score in the 40th minute as her shot just went wide of the far post as the half ended 1-0.

In the 50th minute, Traband scored on a long through ball from Teanna Clark.

The Riders held the 2-0 lead through much of the second half, but a good through pass from Kiley Winter set up the Wolves’ Sasha Yada with a goal in the 77th minute, as she caught goalkeeper Kennedy Rognlien coming out of the goal.

Sequim had a lot of time to score an equalizer as there was a long delay from an injury, creating four minutes of stoppage time.

With the game lasting another seven minutes, the Riders’ defense clamped down again and was able to keep Sequim from having any serious scoring opportunities to hang on for the crucial win.

On Oct. 24, Sequim fell 2-1 to North Kitsap, as the Vikings — one of the top teams in the state — came behind to win. North Kitsap is 12-1 and ranked No. 9 in the state in Ratings Percentage Index.

The Wolves’ Winter scored in the first five minutes of Friday’s match.

“She had the opportunity, and put it away. She is a disciplined player, who works extremely hard, and got rewarded,” Freeman said. “It was a great ball in by Harper Moore.”

“We had a few other shots and opportunities, but were unable to get one to stick,” Freeman said. “The girls played a great game, but unfortunately we came up short.”

Freeman said Ivy Barrett had a great game, and really helped the team defensively. She also said Olive Bridge and Sasha Yada had a few shots on goal.

Looking ahead

Sequim was slated to host Bremerton on Oct. 29 — results were not available at press time.

The Wolves close out the regular season on Nov. 1 at home against North Mason.