Coupeville Sports

Jennifer Spark clears the ball in an earlier season game. (John Fisken photos)

Erin Rosenkranz directs traffic.

They’re the best.

12 times in the last 15 seasons, the Archbishop Thomas Murphy girls’ soccer team has finished in the top three at state, with two state titles (2006, 2009) to its credit. And the Wildcats are right back at it in 2013, rolling to a 7-0 record through Saturday.

Their latest conquest came at the expense of visiting Coupeville, which put up a spirited fight but fell 6-0 in an afternoon game.

The loss dropped the Wolves to 1-5 overall, 1-4 in Cascade Conference play.

ATM got two goals apiece from Kristi Bartz and Cali Crisler to blow the game open, while Claire Feeney and Madisson Lowdon each found the back of the net as well.

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Julia Myers

The Luvera sisters. Please don’t ask me which one is Ana and which one is Ivy…

Jennifer Spark

Erin Rosenkranz

Jacki Ginnings

Marisa Etzell

Makana Stone

Wolf coach Troy Cowan

And the smiles go on and on for days.

Still basking in the glow of their first win of the season — a well-executed 3-2 victory over visiting Sultan Thursday — the Coupeville High School booters will even be smiling through a rainy practice today.

To mark the occasion, we offer a medley of beaming Wolves, all captured by the lens of John Fisken.

To see and purchase action shots from the game (and help support scholarships for CHS student athletes) head over to: http://www.cascadeathletics.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=4412&league=2&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0

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Makana Stone holds her ground against a wave of Turks. (John Fisken photos)

Tori Wellman, preparing for a throw-in, punched in a goal of her own Thursday.

Jennifer Spark unleashes a shot.

When the goals started flowing, they never stopped.

After scoring just once in its first four games, the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer squad opened the floodgates Thursday night, punching in shots from all angles to down visiting Sultan 3-2 for its first win under new coach Troy Cowan.

Playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder — Micky “Two Fists” LeVine earned a yellow card for a well-timed retaliatory foul that made her dad, select soccer coach Sean LeVine, beam with pride — the Wolves (1-4) never backed off against the Turks.

LeVine set up Makana Stone for a goal with a perfectly-placed header, then later took a hard foul that allowed Jennifer Spark to notch her first high school goal on a place kick.

Rounding out the scoring, Tori Wellman popped one into the back of the net, with the assist going to Wolf captain Erin Rosenkranz.

While the offense was red-hot, Wolf goaltender Julia Myers and her backline defenders held up their end of the bargain, as well, shutting down the Turks at crunch time.

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“2-0, baby!!”

Familiar foes are killing the Wolves.

For the second time in four games, a goaltender who plays select soccer with many of the Coupeville High School girl booters returned in a rival uniform to shut them down offensively.

In the season opener, it was Oak Harbor’s Kenzie Perry and Tuesday night in Langley it was South Whidbey netminder Cassie Neil who denied her once and future teammates.

Turning away the few shots she saw, Neil, who has suited up with many of the Wolves as a member of the Whidbey Islanders select squad, pulled off the shutout, sparking the Falcons to a 2-0 win.

The first victory of the season for South Whidbey, it kept Coupeville still looking for its own breakthrough win. Now 0-4, the Wolves host Sultan Thursday at 6 PM.

Neil got all the offensive support she would need from Falcon senior Madi Boyd, who broke through the Wolf defense twice for goals.

One score was set up by Carmen Colar, while the other was a one-woman show from the redhead with the magical scoring touch.

The Wolves defense did not buckle easily, as goalie Julia Myers made “countless, heart-stopping saves.”

With just one goal in four games, Coupeville will try and shake things up moving forward, said Wolf coach Troy Cowan.

“I told the girls after the match, pick your heads up and let’s go back to work,” Cowan said. “We have to figure out a way to create some offense.

“We have one of the fastest players on the island in forward sensation Makana Stone, but we can’t get her the ball enough,” he added. “So we are going back to the drawing board to redesign our offensive game plan and put some hustle behind our muscle.”

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     Makana Stone (with her athletic tape matching her bright blue shoes) goes on the attack. (John Fisken photos)

My eyes! My eyes!!

Wolf goalie McKayla Bailey clears the net.

Joye Jackson delivers a booming kick.

Fear my neon spikes!

Julia Myers (left), back on the field after an injury cost her last season, fights for a loose ball.

A killer in yellow.

Jennifer Spark, leader of Coupeville’s hard-fighting defense, fights off an attack.

Soccer is a game of passion.

And shoes. Soccer players are big on shoes.

Capturing a bit of both the brightly-colored footwear displayed by the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer squad, and the skills demonstrated by the players wearing those shoes, roaming photographer John Fisken delivers another photo essay bursting with life and color.

If you like his shots and want to see more, head over to http://www.cascadeathletics.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=4355&league=2&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0.

A percentage of sales goes to help fund scholarships for CHS student athletes.

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