Coupeville Sports

Micky “Two Fists” LeVine (John Fisken photos)

Ivy Luvera

Cue up the theme from “Rocky.”

In its first game back on the pitch after losing its top defender to a blown-out knee, the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer squad, repping the smallest 1A school in the state, hit the road for a game scheduled seemingly minutes before kickoff and shocked the world Tuesday night.

By the time the Wolves exited the field, they had playing 3A Oak Harbor to a 1-1 tie that will seem like an epic win for everyone back in Cow Town.

They did it with guts. With determination. With resiliency.

And with one blazing moment of glory for the scrappiest of scrappers, senior captain Micky “Two Fists” LeVine, who punched out the Wildcats with one swing of her golden foot.

Set up with a perfect pass off the toe of Erin Rosenkranz, LeVine unloaded her team-high fourth goal of the season, burying the ball in the back of the net and setting off the fireworks.

“Unbelievable! Mickey did it again!,” said a jubilant Wolf coach Troy Cowan. “Mickey is just an incredible player that has a nose for the ball and a quick foot that is electric.”

The Wolf defense made the goal stand up, coming together to play a ferocious tribute to their fallen leader, junior Jenn Spark, who was lost for the season after crumpling to the ground against Mount Vernon Christian.

Coupeville got contributions from its entire back line, and strong work in goal from Julia Myers, but one Wolf in particular stood out for Cowan.

“Without a doubt I have to tip my coaching hat to a player that stepped into an incredibly challenging spot and came out smelling like a rose!,” he said. “When our defensive anchor went down and out with a shredded knee I knew we were going to have to be creative and work our tails off to get the Lady Wolves ship righted.

“Senior outside defender Ivy Luvera stepped up and played a great match,” Cowan added.

It’s not as simple as just plugging in one player for another, either.

“Ivy played about as well as any player could, considering all of the complex responsibilities that come with playing that spot,” Cowan said. “Playing the top of our diamond defense is very challenging for the most experienced player, but Ivy came in and played well; I was very proud of her.

“She made some mistakes, but never quit and recovered quickly,” he added. “On the bus ride home I told her she should hold her head up high and be proud of her performance.”

With the defense refusing to budge, the Wolves pushed the game hard, with Sage Renninger and Marisa Etzell “controlling the flow of the match and keeping the Wildcats honest.”

Now 3-2-1, the Wolves will play their final non-conference game Saturday, when they hit the road to play Crosspoint Academy, the defending Class B state champs.

After that comes the six-game Olympic League schedule, with two games apiece against Klahowya (7-1 in non-conference play), Port Townsend (0-5) and Chimacum (0-7).

Getting the chance to pop in one more game before league play — Oak Harbor was added to the schedule just days ago — was an unexpected, and welcome, bonus for Cowan.

“I need to say thank you to Coach Mike Lonborg and Brian Thompson for giving us the opportunity to play in a great venue and for hosting this match,” he said. “It was a last minute scheduling change and CHS really needed the game time to acclimate Ivy and our newly formed defense.”