Coupeville Sports

   An ankle injury has kept CHS soccer captain Ethan Spark sidelined for the last week-and-a-half. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Three men down, they came up two goals short.

Missing starters Ethan Spark, James Wood and Sam Wynn, who have combined for eight goals this season, the Coupeville High School boys soccer squad fell 5-3 Friday in a high-scoring affair at Port Townsend.

The loss drops the Wolves to 3-3 in Olympic League play, 4-6-2 overall, and into a tie with the RedHawks (3-3, 3-7) for second-place in the four-team conference.

With Coupeville’s defeat, Klahowya (6-0, 9-2-1), which has a three-game lead with three to play, and holds tiebreakers on CHS and PTHS, clinches its fourth-straight league crown.

With Chimacum (0-6, 0-8) mired in the basement, both the Wolves and RedHawks seem likely to earn playoff berths, but the rubber game of their three-game season series will likely decide who gets the #2 playoff seed.

In an unusual twist of scheduling, that game arrives almost immediately, as Port Townsend travels to Coupeville Tuesday for a 4 PM game.

Barring a miracle, the Wolves will almost certainly be without Spark for that clash.

The senior captain severely sprained an ankle competing for a ball in practice a week-and-a-half ago, said mom Kali Barrio, and has been unable to bear weight on the leg ever since.

The one positive is x-rays came back negative on a fracture.

“We’re hoping for no torn ligaments, but only time will tell and a possible MRI,” Barrio said.

Missing key players, the Wolves came out a bit flat.

“We failed to match their energy and intensity, and Port Townsend seemed to get the lucky bounce,” said CHS coach Kyle Nelson.

Down 2-1 at the half, the Wolves swapped goals with the RedHawks in the second half and were still within 4-3 with 15 minutes on the clock.

Coupeville was unable to get the equalizer, however, and gave up a final score in the waning moments.

One bright spot Friday came courtesy sophomore sensation Derek Leyva, who torched the RedHawks for two goals while playing on his birthday.

The scores were #19 and #20 on the season for the first-year Wolf, and the second tally ties him with cousin Abraham Leyva for the CHS boys single-season scoring record.

Coupeville’s other score was helped along by its rivals, as Port Townsend inadvertently scored an “own goal.”

With 44 goals and three regular-season games remaining, this year’s team is in hot pursuit of the 2016 Wolf booters.

That squad, led by Abraham Leyva’s record-setting senior season, scored 48 goals, the most CHS has recorded in the past decade.