Wolf 8th grader Lucy Schisel led CHS girls’ soccer in scoring this season. (Julie Wheat photo)
“It was so beautiful, seeing how they played tonight and the transformation they have shown this season.”
Leading the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer program into battle for the 27th and final time Thursday, Wolf coach Jasmine Ader witnessed all her planning and hard work come to fruition.
Playing superb defense and nailing a pair of perfectly executed goals, the CHS booters ended their season on a high note, shutting out visiting Friday Harbor 2-0 in front of an ethuisastic crowd.
The win lifts the Wolves to 6-4-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-5-3 overall and leaves them in a tie with Lopez Island for third place in the seven-team conference.
The Lobos (6-4-2, 6-5-2) will get the league’s final playoff berth, however, joining Mount Vernon Christian (12-0, 14-2-1) and Friday Harbor (8-4, 8-8).
Originally, it was thought there would be a tiebreaker game if Coupeville and Lopez ended in a stalemate, but a further review of the league’s arcane rules proved otherwise.
While the Wolves and Lobos had identical records, head-to-head results favor Lopez.
The teams tied 2-2 in early September, but Lopez won the second meeting 4-0 in early October, giving the Lobos the ultimate edge.
But while Coupeville missed out on a playoff berth by a whisker, it’s hard to see the season as anything less than a roaring success.
Two years ago, the Wolf girls’ soccer program was shut down, two seasons erased by a lack of players.
Enter Ader, assistant coach Jerry Helm, and a pack of young players, and things have taken a mammoth leap forward.
All 16 players on the roster this year scored — and all 16 can return next year — and the Wolves accepted the challenges presented by their coaches.
“We asked for a lot of positive changes and they responded,” Ader said.
“They were like butterflies out there tonight in their pink (cancer awareness) shirts, blossoming and truly letting everyone know they’re setting a new standard.
“It doesn’t just stop today; it starts again tomorrow and continues as they build this program into something beautiful.”
The Wolves honored the fight against breast cancer in their finale. (Jerry Helm photo)
Thursday’s tilt started with Coupeville on the rampage, pushing the offensive attack right at the heart of the Friday Harbor defense, with Lillian Ketterling keying things.
The junior captain got (briefly) capsized, flipped up and over while charging towards the net with the ball on her foot, and was awarded a penalty kick.
Taking a moment to inhale the fresh prairie air, Ketterling, among the calmest and coolest in all the land, then drilled the ball on a line, bouncing it off the netminder’s hands and into the back of the net for her ninth career goal.
The 1-0 lead held up, with freshman goalie Finley Helm in lockdown mode, and her back line defenders chasing down and thwarting any breakaway chances.
Hailey Goldman holds her ground. (Julie Wheat photo)
Wanting a little extra breathing room, Coupeville found a second goal nine minutes into the second half, with Ketterling popping a ball over the defense, setting the table for freshman Lyla Grose, who promptly banged home her 10th prep score.
From there, it was defense, defense, and even some more defense, with Olivia Hall, Hailey Goldman, Tamsin Ward, a rampaging Emma Cushman, and many more combining to form an unbreakable wall.
Ader, who is moving to Japan with her military husband, may be physically leaving Coupeville, but her time spent here will continue to resonate with her.
“My time as coach helped me transform and grow,” she said. “It helped me open up, be silly at times, ask questions, see things from the side of the youths.”
A campaign fueled by jars of pickles, bags of Hi-Chews, and a mix of chocolate milk and pushups — “Burping is not allowed on my field!” Ader said with a huge smile — ended in the best way possible for the pitch guru and her proteges.
“Just a beautiful, beautiful season!”
Final season scoring stats:
Lucy Schisel – 6
Hazel Goldman – 4
Lyla Grose – 4
Lillian Ketterling – 3
Ariella Lee-Spaulding – 3
Tamsin Ward – 3
Olivia Hall – 2
Scarlet Barnes – 1
Emma Cushman – 1
Hailey Goldman – 1
Sophia Greene – 1
Finley Helm – 1
Paige Hill – 1
Taylor Marrs – 1
Bella Sandlin – 1
Bettie Woolworth – 1
This group, plus two players who are MIA from the photo, can all return next season. (Julie Wheat photo)
