Coupeville Sports

    Players huddle under a tent before heading out into the cold rain. (Kali Barrio photos)

  Ethan Spark, brother of Islander defender Jen Spark, is super-excited to be spending his Sunday in Bellevue.

Slightly less than toasty…

It was a cold, miserable day in Bellevue Sunday and Paige Waterman was sick.

But nothing, not weather, not illness, can stop the golden right foot of Waterman when she gets near the goal.

Ignoring all her troubles, the Oak Harbor High School sophomore (formerly a Wolf) chipped a 30-yard shot past a flailing goalie, burying her shot in the back of the net and giving the GU17 Whidbey Islanders soccer squad an early lead in their season opener.

A fluke goal and a lack of subs eventually killed the Islanders chances of nabbing a victory, but stellar goal-tending from Ayla Muller and Makenzie Perry allowed the local squad to escape with a 1-1 tie against Newport FC.

The tying goal came after Newport got an unwarranted corner kick, said Islander coach Sean LeVine. A ball that clearly went off a Newport player last was awarded to the offending team, which then dropped it in the box, where it skipped around on the wet turf and found its way through the Whidbey defense.

Gassed a bit in the second half, as they were playing with just two subs, the Islanders still kept coming, but couldn’t get a deciding goal past the Newport net-minder. On her side of the field, Perry was virtually flawless, ignoring the slashing rain to turn away the few shots Newport was able to fire her way.

“Anybody who saw that game knows that we were the dominaters and aggressors,” LeVine said. “We out-played, out-possessed and outran that team.”

The Islanders will have more bodies very soon, as Jacki Ginnings, who missed the entire Coupeville High School season with an injury, has been cleared to start practicing.

“This will be a huge asset as she and Jen Spark are our two best center defenders,” LeVine said.