Coupeville Sports

Matthew Kelley, king of the pitch. (Pat Kelley photo)

Their fear of the mud is gone.

With rain and muck having long ago overtaken the soccer season, the North Whidbey Deception BU14 soccer squad seems to have finally adapted to the conditions, if Saturday is any indication.

Overcoming the weather, and a pesky South Whidbey Islanders team, the Deception rode a late goal from Coupeville’s Matthew Kelley to an important 2-1 win.

The victory kept the Deception, who are 6-2 this season, in third place in the 11-team North Puget Sound League standings with four games to play.

The squad, which is a mix of Oak Harbor and Coupeville booters, has 18 points, which puts them hot on the heels of the West Seattle Strikers (21) and Lake Hills Legends (19).

North Whidbey has games remaining against Kent (3-3-2), Mercer Island (2-5-1), Issaquah (3-4) and Lake Hills (6-1-1).

Facing off with their Island rivals, the Deception scored first, on a rebound off of a corner kick.

The Coupeville defensive contingent of James Wood, Sam Wynn and Jean Lund-Olson kept South Whidbey shut down for most of the afternoon, while Kelley and Aram Leyva led the assault on the goal.

Kelley’s winning goal came with three minutes to play.

The CMS 7th grader took a pass and shot between South Whidbey defenders, banging home the ball into the right corner of the net.