Coupeville Sports

With a limited scoring attack, the Wolf defense has had to keep the team in games. They have done it with grit and hustle, as shown here by goalie McKayla Bailey and defenders (l to r in white uniforms) Kelsey Miranda, Marisa Etzell and Anna Bailey. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

McKayla Bailey has been one of the pleasant surprises of the soccer season.

The Coupeville High School sophomore was thrown into the goaltender’s net for the first time in her life this season and has had to sink or swim. With lots of side practice with Wolf assistant coach Gary Manker, father of a talented former CHS goalie — Ashley Manker — Bailey has stepped up nicely.

As she continues to get more comfortable in net, and the Coupeville offense begins to take some pressure off of her by keeping a chunk of the play on the other side of the field, the Wolves have shown steady progress.

That was evident again Tuesday night, as the Wolves battled until the end in a 2-0 loss to visiting Cedarcrest. While it was Coupeville’s tenth loss in as many games, the Wolves trailed just 1-0 at the half and radically improved on their first meeting with the Red Wolves, when they were blasted 7-0.

Bailey, for one, remains confident, both in her own play and that of her teammates.

“It was good. Our defense is getting stronger and our offense is getting more and more shots on goal as we go along,” Bailey said. “It’s the second half of the season and we plan to bring it.”