Coupeville Sports

Wolf goalie McKayla Bailey snared 14 balls Saturday, including one brilliant   diving save that sent an electric jolt through her cheering section. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

It was an honorable loss.

Facing off Saturday afternoon with a King’s squad made up of highly-dangerous offensive weapons who spent most of the game deep in Wolf territory, an injury-riddled Coupeville High School girls’ soccer team made gritty defensive stand after stand before finally falling.

The 3-0 loss, which dropped the Wolves to 0-9 on the season, was much closer than the score might sound. With Coupeville goalie McKayla Bailey patrolling the net with a laser-like focus, and her defenders sacrificing their bodies for the cause, the game was up for grabs until the visiting Knights popped in two goals in the final 18 minutes of the match.

A perfectly placed throw-in from the side set up a header that just evaded Bailey’s grasp, making it 2-0. Then, in the final two minutes, a King’s player put on a one-woman shock ‘n awe show, evading three Wolf defenders on a wild run, before delicately placing the ball into the corner of the net with a flick of her foot (while smacking a Coupeville player with a well-placed elbow that the ref missed).

Missing speedster Madison Tisa McPhee (out with an injury), Coupeville struggled to get any consistent offensive flow going. Wolf play-maker supreme Amanda d’Almedia was aggressively shadowed by Knights defenders, and the few times d’Almedia could get a ball over the head of the defense, King’s blunted runs by Makana Stone, not allowing the freshman to get loose and convert a shot on goal.

Under almost constant pressure, Bailey, a sophomore in her first year in net, continued to show flashes of brilliance. Recording 14 saves, she brought the crowd to their feet with one diving snag late in the game.

Around her, multiple teammates sacrificed their well-being in her defense. Victoria Wellman and Marisa Etzell blocked shots with their bodies, with Etzell taking a nasty shot to the chest.

The nastiest shot, however, came when freshman phenom Jennifer Spark was run over by a freight train from behind during a scramble for the ball. Planted face-first into the turf, she left the game to be checked on, but returned and gave the Wolves a burst with her energy.

Coupeville stalwarts Kelsey Miranda, Haley Marx and Anna Bailey (fighting through a nagging injury of her own) scrapped up and down the field, while Micky Levine, Joye Jackson, Christine Fields, Rachel Wenzel, Ana Luvera and Erin Rosenkranz each chipped in with hustle and an unflagging spirit.