ROYAL CITY – The Knights shut down the Wapato Wolves on Tuesday at home 3-0 to improve to 11-3 on the season. Though the Knights will take a win any day, head coach Jens Jensen felt they left some scores out on the field.  

“It's a win, but it's very frustrating, (we had) chances on top of chances (to score) and I don't know it's like somebody reached down and just turned the valve on the goal scoring for us,” he said.  

The Knights started with possession of the ball and immediately booted it into Wapato territory to put the pressure on the Wolved to try and stop the Knights' attack. They put two lines of defense between them and the net to prevent the Knights from attacking so easily.  

“We're looking at Wapato and going, ‘We should put this team on their heels immediately,’ and we're trying to figure out how you beat a team that's going to put eight or nine people in the box, which is what they're doing,” Jensen said.  

Maggie Frank and Lauren Wardenaar consistently applied pressure in the Knights' offensive efforts, ultimately leading to three scores in the first half. One score came off a corner kick by Frank, which set the Knights up to take a shot at the net.  

“Maggie Frank is the engine room, and if she's on her game, then that's a great thing for us,” Jensen said. “Wardenaar, we can play her just about anywhere, and she helps. We're trying to play her in our attacking most line with the hope that she can find the back of the net.” 

In the second half, the Knights continued to control the ball most of the time. They had several shots on goal that did not result in points, but the ball mainly stayed on the favorable end of the field.  

While Jensen was pleased with the ball control, he wished the Knights had capitalized on more of their opportunities. He noted this is an issue that began earlier this season against College Place.  

“It's frustrating from a coaching perspective that you just, you're looking for the payoff, and they just weren't coming. I lost count at like, eight or nine, 1v1’s with the keeper and we wound up having to win in a shootout and so that was the start of this goal-scoring drought, and unfortunately, it turned into a rut. We got to figure out a way to get out (of it),” Jensen said.  

Jensen said it’s a tough issue to solve because it leans into more of the mental side of the game, he said. Players can have scoring ruts, and the goal can appear smaller. His approach to counter this is to give them more opportunities to take shots at the net.  

“Just give them reps, and you hope that you build confidence and in practice, you try to set them up with opportunities to score regularly, and hopefully that just gets their confidence up,” he said.  

The Knights host College Place on Thursday in their final home game of the season at 6 p.m. 

BOX SCORE: 

ROYL: 3-0: 3
WPTO: 0-0: 0  

    The Knights’ Leah Christensen (23) looks for a pass opening. The Knights defeated the Wapato Wolves 3-0 on Tuesday.
  

    Maggie Frank (14) pursues the ball during the Knights game against Wapato on Tuesday. Head Coach Jens Jensen called Frank the engine room for the Knights.
  

    Lauren Wardenaar (24) pushes the ball downfield as the Knights attack applies pressure on the Wapato defense. Head Coach Jens Jensen said Wardenaar is someone they can play anywhere on the field.
  

    Taylor Webb (9) chases down the ball to set up a shot attempt against Wapato. Head Coach Jens Jensen said the Knights could have capitalized on more of their scoring opportunities on Tuesday.
  

    Aurora Santillan (22) races past a Wapato defender. The Knights dominated ball control on Tuesday against the Wolves.