The North Thurston boys soccer team responded to a message of urgency at halftime against Peninsula Thursday night and netted three second-half goals in a 5-1 victory.
Leonardo Cortez capitalized on a Seahawks penalty in the box in the sixth minute, connecting on a penalty kick. Rams keeper William Doerrheim came up clutch in the 18th minute, swallowing up a Seahawks penalty kick.
Peninsula tied the game in the 24th minute on a header off of a corner kick and dominated possession for the rest of the first half.
At halftime, North Thurston coaches gave them one short message.
“We told them to prove themselves,” North Thurston coach Tristan Glazer said.
The Rams listened and proved themselves. Eli Taylor, celebrating his 18th birthday Thursday, scored the go-ahead goal after a shot from Rayan Moustafa was saved and the rebound found him in the box.
Moustafa rifled a free kick from 22 yards out in the 53rd minute to give the Rams a 3-1 advantage, and Taylor added a successful penalty kick two minutes later. Moustafa capped the night off in the 78th minute with his second goal.
“Their response in the second half was phenomenal. I’m really proud of their effort, and the teamwork and unselfishness were great,” Glazer said. “A big shoutout to our keeper William Doerrheim for keeping us in a position to go on and win the game. He made some great saves for us.”
North Thurston outshot Peninsula 15-9 in the victory. The Rams (8-2-5, 5-1-2 Puget Sound League) remain in the driver’s seat for second place in the PSL Nisqually Division as Timberline lost to Lakes Thursday night. North Thurston will close the regular season with a home match against River Ridge (0-13-1, 0-8-0 PSL) Monday, April 27 on senior night before a road trip to Lakes (5-8-0, 3-5-0 PSL) Thursday, April 30.
