Coupeville Sports

Micky LeVine

Jennifer Spark

Erin Rosenkranz

Jacki Ginnings

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, not so good. The Four Horsemen of the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer team, much better.

The quartet dubbed as team leaders by new coach Troy Cowan are young (none are seniors), talented and ready to take the Wolves to a new level.

Junior mid-fielder Erin Rosenkranz, the team captain, is joined by junior mid-fielder Micky LeVine, junior defender Jacki Ginnings and sophomore stopper Jennifer Spark to form the core of a group that will step up and replace graduated leaders such as Amanda d’Almeida and Haley Marx.

Ginnings, along with junior goalie Julia Myers, is one of two CHS players who completely missed last season due to injuries.

With both back — Myers is vying with incumbent netminder McKayla Bailey for net time (“I think our opponents are going to be surprised by the Lady Wolves’ outstanding goalie play,” Cowan said) — the Wolves will have a deep, talented roster.

New blood, in the form of freshmen with big upsides, helps that as well.

“We have several freshmen who are joining us and all have potential to become future Lady Wolves stars,” Cowan said. “Without a doubt I am extremely excited about Carlie Rosenkrance. Carlie is explosive, cerebral and is going to have a huge impact on the team.”

Cowan, who hails from select soccer, is taking over a program that won just one game last season. However, the Wolves were a scrappy team, and one dominated by players who play year-round.

“We want to be competitive, to improve and to give 100%,” Cowan said. “We have to win the effort battle and win every loose ball to be competitive.

“The wins will come with time and practice, but we have got to play within ourselves and never quit,” he added. “If we can focus on the basics and work hard we will accomplish our goals.”

Perennial powers King’s and Archbishop Thomas Murphy are the teams to beat in the eight-team Cascade Conference, but, in the end, it’s more about seeing continued improvement.

“We are trying to build this program up by using positive energy, positive thoughts and positive ideas,” Cowan said. “We have to change how people view Coupeville soccer, because we need to have future players getting excited about playing for the red and black and representing their alma mater.

“We will be making some radical changes to the way we play and the way we think on the pitch,” he added. “Changes of this magnitude take time and effort, so we are hopeful that the community of Coupeville and the student body of CHS can continue providing us the outstanding support we have become accustomed to.”