Community Sports

Sports Beat | Two Tides teams earn third-place trophies

Posted on June 5th, 2026 By: Dennis Browne

Two underdog Gig Harbor teams earned third-place finishes in their state tournaments in the closing days of May.

The soccer team finished third out of 73 WIAA Class 3A teams after defeating Bishop Blanchet of Seattle, 2-1, in a shootout at at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup on May 30.

A day earlier, the Tides lost a semifinal to No. 1 Mercer Island, the defending state champions, 3-0. The Islanders went on to win their second straight 3A title.

Gig Harbor (17-3-1) achieved its best finish in nine seasons and did it in dramatic fashion against Blanchet.

Shootout

The Tides and Bears were tied at 1 at the end of regulation, with senior Henry Blake providing Gig Harbor’s goal off an assist from freshman Julian Burby. The teams went into a shootout to determine a winner.

Gig Harbor finished third at the Class 3A state tournament. Photo by Vincent Starr

Tides coach Joe Ross faced the difficult decision of who would attempt shots in the shootout. Ross picked five talented seniors.

Both teams made their first four shootout attempts. Burying shots for the Tides were Puget Sound League Offensive MVP Eli Hanson, who owns the school’s single-season scoring record of 23 goals; overall PSL MVP Henry Blake; and all-league standouts Jack Learned and Cayden Desjardins.

Cayden Desjardins scored a shootout goal for Gig Harbor. Photo by Vincent Starr

On Blanchet’s fifth attempt, Tide all-league goalkeeper Malachi Wilson — who saved five one-on-one chances during regulation — dove to his left and deflected a shot away from goal in the final clutch save of his high school career.

The winner

The Tides and their fans erupted in celebration. They still had a bullet left in the chamber that was about to be fired off of Ryan Fergus’s right foot.

Fergus, a defensive specialist, stepped into the spotlight and delivered with a blast to the back of the net that ended the Tides’ season on a high note.

Gig Harbor’s third-place finish ties for the fifth-best in program history. The Tides finished second four times and third two other times.

“No one thought we would win districts or even get out of the first round,” Ross said. “The rebuild we did and the way the boys bought into the concept of playing for each other carried us through. I am very blessed to have been a part of their journey this year.”

Ryan Fergus made the game-winning goal in a penalty kick shootout for Gig Harbor. Photo by Vincent Starr

Short-handed water polo team takes third

The Gig Harbor girls water polo team matched the boys soccer team’s finish.

The Tides won nine of their last 11 games after starting the season without enough players to scrimmage. Gig Harbor lost a pool-full of seniors after the 2025 season, including three all-state players.

But Mike Kelly can coach, and his girls didn’t flinch. They rolled down their caps and went to work, then kept working until they won the third-place trophy at the Class 3A state Division One tournament at Curtis High School on May 28 through 30.

Jenna Nelson fires a shot during a state tournament game. Photo by Mike Kelly

The Tides (14-8) came into the state tournament with seven loses, most of them to Nos. 1 and 2 Bainbridge Island and Curtis. They beat Peninsula twice by a combined score of 28-6 and owned quality wins over Kennedy, Stadium and South Kitsap.

Iron women

Because of his small roster, Kelly called on several team members to perform what he calls the Iron Woman Challenge — which is a flattering way of saying that you have to play every minute without a break.

Even the fittest athletes in any sport would have a hard time treading water and sprinting end to end for over 30 minutes, but the girls never complained and took it as a challenge, according to Kelly.

The Tides were probably the best-conditioned team in the state tournament, but playing four matches in three days was tough.

Gig Harbor lost its second state match to eventual champion Bainbridge Island, but they rallied for a 6-5 win over Rogers of Puyallup in a consolation-round game.

Dramatic finish

In that one, the Rams scored a goal with just 10 seconds to play.

Kelly called time out to set up a play for Annika Shearer, but Rogers double-teamed her. So she passed to Samara Wilson, whose shot ricocheted off the post and into the goal as the horn sounded.

“Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script,” Kelly said.

Lauren Elliott shoots during a state tournament game. Photo by Mike Kelly

The Tides took that momentum to play one of their best games of the season in the third-place game, beating Ingraham 10-4.

Gig Harbor didn’t have an excess of players, but it did have talented athletes. Lauren Elliott earned first-team All-State honors, while Eva Dahlin and Jenna Nelson were named second-team All-State. Alex Ensminger was named honorable mention.