Sam Richards made numerous saves Tuesday against a high-powered Orcas Island offense. (Jacob Lujan photos)
One step forward, one step backward, one step still to take.
Fresh off a weekend playoff win, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad ran into a buzzsaw Tuesday, falling 3-1 to two-time defending state champ Orcas Island in a matinee played on the turf in Anacortes.
The District 1/2/3/4 tourney loss drops the Wolves to 9-6-1, but they’ll return to action Thursday with a winner-to-state, loser-out clash against either Providence Classical Christian or Auburn Adventist Academy.
Location and time for that momentous bout is to be determined.
Facing an Orcas squad which now sits at 16-0-1 on the season, Coupeville held tough for 20 minutes-plus, before finally cracking under a constant barrage of shots.
The Vikings, who have played in five consecutive 2B/1B state title games, winning three of them, have a precision passing attack which even a soccer infidel such as myself can appreciate.
The ball rarely stops moving, gets slipped through cracks in the defense, and is quickly on the toes of an assortment of fleet-footed, wiry attack dogs with a scorer’s mentality.
Coupeville goaltender Sam Richards played outstanding, snatching up shots in front of the net, kicking incoming balls wide of their intended target, and basically doing whatever he could to blunt the Viking attack.
With help from his defense, which spent much of the first half on its heels, the Wolves held Orcas scoreless until the game’s 23rd minute.
That was when things cracked for a bit, with the Vikings banging home the opening score from the left side, adding a goal off a free kick six minutes later, then slipping in the dagger on a long, booming shot which took a good carom off the turf during stoppage time.
Malachi Chapa, in one of the rare moments when he’s not zipping down the field.
Up 3-0 at the break, Orcas didn’t rampage as hard in the second half, though still managed to get off an array of shots, all of which were snuffed out by Richards and his defenders.
Coupeville broke through with 18 minutes left to play, as freshman Malachi Chapa banged in a ball off of a rebound, after a vicious corner kick from Chayse Van Velkinburgh was deflected but not controlled by the Viking netminder.
It was Chapa’s fifth score of the season.
The Wolves stayed aggressive the rest of the way, but Orcas, content to drop back into a prevent defense, kept Coupeville’s sharpshooters at bay as the clock ticked down.
District playoff bracket:
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