Coupeville Sports

     Josh Wilsey and the Wolves have played strongly, but are still looking for their first win. (John Fisken photo)

Close, but not close enough.

Playing a rare home game Tuesday, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer team battled unbeaten league leader Archbishop Thomas Murphy almost to a standstill for a half.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats punched in two more goals after halftime, and, combined with a season-long offensive drought suffered by the Wolves, that was enough for a 3-0 win.

The loss dropped Coupeville to 0-6 overall, 0-5 in Cascade Conference play. Half of those defeats have been by one goal, and one goal is all the Wolves have been able to produce in nearly 500 minutes of field action.

ATM improved to a perfect 4-0 in league play (5-0-1 overall) and were just as good as advertised.

“They showed why they are undefeated with an impressive all-around display,” said Coupevile coach Paul Mendes. “They were solid at every position. Their offense and ball possession kept us busy most of the night.”

Josh Bartley scored two of his team’s three goals, and assisted on the other to  Jalen Crisler, while Wildcat goalies Luis Valdes III and Connor Mulvaney combined for the shutout.

The Wolves had several strong scoring opportunities in the second half, including three corner kicks, but were unable to find the back of the net.

While the win-loss record is not where it might have been expected to be, Mendes sees a team on the cusp of breaking out.

“The effort was strong for the entire game,” he said. “Playing a team of this caliber will speed up our growth as we approach the second half of the season.”