Coupeville Sports

Samantha Streitler is teaming with Katelin McCormick to man the goal for Coupeville soccer while starting net-minder Mollie Bailey is out with an injury. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Wolf JV team saw its first action of the season Tuesday afternoon at King’s.

Dynasties are built one step at a time.

And give the King’s girls soccer program all the credit in the world.

Its players have worked hard, both at the prep level, and in travel ball, and they are reaping success they have earned.

The Knights have placed in the top four at the state tourney nine times in the last 13 seasons, with a state title in 2017.

King’s swept to a league title in the first season of the North Sound Conference last year, and it is an overwhelming favorite to repeat the feat this fall.

For schools such as Coupeville, small public institutions with few year-round players, it’s tough to make a dent in the armor the private school Knights have built up.

So, you take your lumps, you try and learn some lessons, and you move on, ready for another day as you try and build your own dynasty, one step at a time.

Tuesday night, playing without primary scoring weapon Genna Wright and starting goaltender Mollie Bailey, the Wolves couldn’t topple King’s, falling 10-0 at Shoreline.

The loss drops Coupeville to 0-1 in league play, 0-3 overall, but the schedule gets a tad easier after this.

The Wolves travel to Sultan Thursday for another conference clash, then head home for a four-game stretch which starts Saturday when 2A Kingston visits Whidbey for a non-league rumble.

While the high-powered Knights eventually rattled home their fair share of goals, Coupeville coach Kyle Nelson praised the play of his defense, which hung tough for long chunks of time.

“No upset tonight, but we did manage to keep them to two goals each half for the first 30 minutes of the half,” he said.

“With Mollie out, it was Katelin (McCormick) in the first half and Sam (Streitler) in the second half. Getting the rookie keepers some experience.”

One big step forward for the Coupeville program this season is having enough girls to field two complete teams.

It’s a milestone Nelson and his staff have been working towards.

“JV played our first JV game in quite some time. Maybe ever?,” Nelson said. “They also lost, but pulled together nicely after the first 5-10 minutes.”