Upset of the century!

September 23, 2022 by David Svien

Nick Guay applies some hands-on defense. (Morgan White photos)

Fear the Wilson boys.

With big bro Aidan netting a hat trick, and younger sibling Cael playing lights-out in the net, the Coupeville High School boys soccer team stunned the world Friday.

Facing off with visiting Friday Harbor, a state title contender which had just upended the actual defending state champs, the Wolves never backed down, claiming a 3-1 win at Mickey Clark Field.

The victory lifts Coupeville to 2-2 on the season heading into a showdown with Orcas Island, which brought home the shiniest trophy from last year’s 2B/1B state tourney.

Friday Harbor handed the Vikings a loss earlier in the week, ending a home-winning streak for Orcas which had reached five years.

So, when the Wolverines arrived on Whidbey Island, they were heavy favorites.

I’m just saying, even the hardiest of Coupeville fans weren’t likely to be hanging out down below the bleachers laying bets on the hometown pitch heroes.

But if they had … jackpot.

Coupeville came out aggressive and never backed down, contesting every shot and fighting for every 50/50 ball.

Wolf goalie Cael Wilson, stalking the pitch, the muted prairie sunshine reflecting off of his glasses, transformed before our eyes.

Suddenly he was Coupeville’s answer to Jan Oblak (thank you Google search…), a towering titan in the net, deflecting everything Friday Harbor sent his way.

Wilson punched a shot away with his right arm, dropped to his knees to make a two-handed block at point-blank range, and even shot high into the air to spear away another incoming missile.

On the sideline, CHS girls soccer guru Kyle Nelson, subbing for Wolf boys coach Robert Wood, who was out of town on business, nodded ever so slightly in approval.

Exactly the way the combined Coupeville pitch brain trust planned it.

If you looked at shots on goal, Friday Harbor had a huge advantage in the first half, and yet the scoreboard at the break reflected that score most beloved of soccer fanatics.

Zero to zero. Nil-nil, as they say in the soccer hotbeds.

Or so I’ve been told.

That was soon corrected, however, as Cael’s older brother decided to help out the family cause.

Aidan Wilson, on the rampage.

Rampaging down the left side of the pitch on a long run, Aidan Wilson lured the netminder in, before ripping a rocket into the top left of the net.

Cue the bedlam from the stands and his teammates.

Cue another small nod from Kyle Nelson, a master of keeping his composure in the glare of the spotlight.

And likely cue bedlam from Robert Wood, on the road but undoubtedly still grooving on his team’s success.

Friday Harbor is a top-notch team however, and you keep peppering any goalie with enough shots, one is going to go in at some point.

The tying score came courtesy Adam Strasbourger, who climbed to the heavens and sacrificed his noggin, using his head to knock the ball just wide of Cael Wilson’s outstretched arms.

The momentum could have shifted. Probably should have shifted.

But it didn’t.

Instead, Coupeville dug in, with the combined efforts of Cole White, Grant Steller, Matthew Ward, and Co. frustrating Friday Harbor’s offense time and again.

The Wolves caught a break when Aidan Wilson was awarded a penalty kick after a wild scrum, and the Wolf senior rattled home his second goal of the night with less than 14 minutes remaining on the clock.

Friday Harbor could not buy a break in the waning moments, missing twice from inches away on the same play.

A laser blast caught an updraft at the last second and slammed off the crossbar, only to rebound right to a Wolverine player.

But when his header put-back went wide left by a hair, Coupeville fans started to breathe again. At least a bit.

Aidan Wilson finally sealed the deal in stoppage time, sprinting down the left side and completing his second-half hat trick to push the lead out to 3-1.

In the aftermath of the win, his teammates carried Cael Wilson off the field while Coupeville Superintendent Steve King, a Friday Harbor alum, tried to walk the tight rope gracefully.

“I’ll file this one away,” he said with a smile. “Might have to bring this up at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe. Never know.”

For Nelson, who will find himself on a bus headed to Forks Saturday with the Wolf girls, the moment was huge.

“A great win for the guys,” he said.

“That’s the best team in this league, and this should be a really great confidence booster.”