Coupeville Sports

    Mattea Miller (middle left) and Carlie Rosenkrance (middle right) helped carry their soccer squad to a tourney title.

Marysville never knew what hit it.

Emulating their older sister squad, the Whidbey Islanders GU15 select soccer squad joined the GU18 booters in rolling to a tourney title at the Marysville Strawberry Classic over the weekend.

The GU15 team, which features three players from Coupeville, overcame a brutal schedule that had it playing three times in one day and swept to four wins in as many games.

After opening with a win Friday, the Islanders sat and twiddled their thumbs Saturday, then were run through the gauntlet Sunday, when they took the pitch three times, including an intense championship match.

The highlight was a 2-1 win over a heavily-favored Marysville “A” team playing at home.

Islander coach Troy Cowan, who was recently named the girls’ soccer coach at Coupeville High School, praised his trio of future Wolf players for their role in the tourney title.

Defender Carlie Rosenkrance anchored the Islanders, playing every minute of all four games, while Sage Renninger, on loan from the GU14 squad, sparkled with her play at midfield.

“Great possession and intelligent player with outstanding field vision,” Cowan said.

Also drawing kudos was Mattea Miller.

“A first year sensation with blazing speed,” Cowan said. “Played forward and sparked several scoring opportunities and created havoc for the best defenders. A rising star.”

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Ayla Muller (left) and Jen Spark celebrate their title. (Kali Barrio photos)

Kenzie Perry photo-bombs Sean LeVine’s halftime speech.

No time for losers, cause we are the champions … of the world.

Repeat champions and it feels so good.

Capping its summer tournament season, the Whidbey Islanders GU18 select soccer squad won two of three games over the weekend, successfully defending its title by winning the Marysville Strawberry Classic.

The Islanders thumped Marysville Los Zorros Locos 3-0, then won by the same score against the Snohomish Patriots. A hard-fought 2-1 loss to Tracyton Velocity prevented Whidbey from finishing the tourney with a flawless record, but its point total easily carried it to the title.

Highlights came from all directions, with Kendra Warwick knocking in three goals, Tori Wellman and Zoe Bassett notching their first goals as Islanders and goalie Kenzie Perry and her stout defense pulling off a shutout for 2.5 games.

The Islanders started off quickly and never looked back, with Micky LeVine, back on the pitch after a recent hospital visit, scoring in the first five minutes of the opening match. Taking a beautiful pass from Warwick, the speedy mighty mite drilled the ball into the back of the net and opened the floodgates.

Warwick blew the game open, drilling a second goal over the keeper’s head, off an assist from Perry, before Anni Field, a guest player from South Whidbey, juked a defender out of her shoes and bashed in the final score.

“This was a great game in which the girls showcased their ability to calmly possess the ball,” said Islanders coach Sean LeVine.

Game two was more of the same, as Wellman chipped a ball over the charging keeper for a score, before Warwick tacked on a pair of scores. Not only was she scoring from all directions, but Warwick spent the weekend bouncing between positions, playing wherever the team needed her.

With the tourney title already clinched before the final game Sunday, LeVine moved players around to give them a taste of other positions and pulled Perry from net in the second half.

Despite controlling the flow of the game, the Islanders fell victim to a pair of fluke goals, one aided by a highly questionable call.

Bassett bull-rushed the Tracyton defense for her team’s lone score, but a free kick set up by “a very, very, very bad call by the referee … one of several,” turned out to be the difference.

In the end it didn’t matter, however, as the Islanders picked up their medals and a few parting words from their coach. The team is off now until November, with North Puget Sound League play set to kick off in December.

Between now and then, the Islanders, who boast players from Oak Harbor, Coupeville and South Whidbey, will play with their high school teams.

Before they departed, LeVine hailed the play of his defense (Perry, Jen Spark, Jackie Ginnings, Paige Waterman, Becca Pabona and guest player Chelsea Atkinson). He was also grateful for three guest players, who helped fill in a couple of empty roster slots.

“A big thank you to our guest players, Jacalyn Hefflefinger, who more than held down the outside mid, Atkinson, who is an awesome defender and was pivotal to our success in the back, and Field, who was able to play well all over the field,” LeVine said.

“I’m happy we helped our players improve and I hope they will be big contributors on their high school teams,” he added. “I will miss them for a few months, but I will be their biggest fan in the stands at as many high school games as possible!”

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Tori Wellman and dad Josh.

Tori Wellman wants to go out strong.

The Coupeville High School senior attacks play on the soccer pitch with great passion (“I just love the sport. I’m comfortable wherever the coach puts me and I’m not afraid to take out a girl every once in awhile”) and she’d like to cap her career as a Wolf booter in style.

“My goal this year is to give it all I have,” Wellman said. “This is my last year and I want to give a good example to the underclassmen because I know I looked up to the older girls I was playing with.

“Oh, and, of course, I want us to win, but also have fun,” she added. “That’s the reason these girls started playing in the first place.”

An athlete from an early age — she tried t-ball, basketball, cheer, BMX racing and horse riding — Wellman found her love early, when she first stepped onto the soccer field at six.

“I enjoy the fact that soccer has really motivated me to get out there and do something,” she said. “I just love the sport … I’m not really sure how to describe why.”

While the high school season is still weeks away from getting started, Wellman is playing with the Whidbey Islanders GU18 select squad, a team that boasts players from all three Whidbey Island high schools.

“I’ve been playing for (Islanders coach) Sean (LeVine) off and on throughout the years, and it’s no surprise to me that he is still a great coach,” Wellman said. “I would say playing in select has really helped me improve with the ball and getting comfortable playing all around the field, plus it’s nice that when high school season comes around I won’t be dying on the field from not being in shape.

“But really playing for the Islanders has been such a great experience so far, my only regret is not playing it before this year.”

The extra playing time is helping her fine-tune her already impressive skill-set, while keeping her sharp no matter where she lines up on the field.

“This season I want to focus on the little things like ball control and what not, which is why I was interested in select,” Wellman said. “It is a great way to get in shape and improve on any skills that needed to be worked on.

“I play anywhere. I grew up playing defense but I’ve been moved around a lot,” she added. “I’ve been playing mostly striker for Sean this season. I’m interested where (new CHS coach) Troy (Cowan) will be putting me.”

A big animal lover (“I would probably have 50 dogs if my parents would let me get more”) who hails “Shrek” as her favorite film (“I can still probably repeat every line”), Wellman has also recently picked up baking as a hobby.

“I haven’t burnt the house down yet, so I suppose that’s going well,” she said with a laugh.

As she finds her way in life, both on the soccer pitch and off, Wellman has been blessed to have a number of strong, positive role models.

From her coaches to teachers such as Tom Black and Ken Stange (“They gave me confidence that despite my struggles I can go out and do anything I dream of, and have also showed me to be happy with who I am”) and boyfriend Joey Edwards (“My boyfriend helps a lot when I don’t have any motivation to do anything”), she has a solid support group.

One man though, stands above them all.

“There’s a lot of people that have influenced my life in so many ways. So the answer to this is a little hard,” Wellman said. “I know my dad is my biggest influence. He has seen me at my best and my worst and has continued to support me in everything I do, even when he has the world on his shoulders.

“He’s a great man and I have always looked up to him.”

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