Coupeville Sports

Micky LeVine, seen here tracking a ball during her high school season, may be relatively small, but she packs a punch. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Ride together, die together.

Like a biker gang, but with much better fashion sense, the booters who form the GU17 Whidbey Islanders soccer squad defend their own. Mess with one of them and you will have five to answer to. Really mess with them and you’re going to meet Micky “The Enforcer” LeVine.

You’re not going to enjoy that.

Playing a very aggressive Milton team on the road in a match that started rough and then turned painful Sunday, the moment that will be remembered longest is the diminutive LeVine taking on both an opposing player and a referee in defense of teammate Becca Pabona.

“The whole team had each others backs,” said Islander coach Scott Rosenkranz. “Micky had had enough and stepped in to let some opposing players and the ref know Becca had been roughed up perhaps a little too much, in her opinion. That got everyone’s attention.”

At that point, Erin Rosenkranz had left with a bloody nose (after taking a soccer ball to the face), goalie Kenzie Perry had been sidelined after taking a wicked shot to the back and Jacki Ginnings had endured a badly-mashed hand. With Pabona, one of the Islanders’ top offensive weapons, being repeatedly whacked, enter LeVine, who was ready to lay a girl out.

“We knew going into this game it was going to be tough, but we did not expect the nastiness and brutality from this team,” LeVine said. “Not only were they nasty with their physical play but they had a problem with keeping their mouths shut.”

Tension built after a series of cheap shots and finally boiled over on a play late in the game.

“Becca was shielding off a player and after the ball was way out of bounds, the girl pushed her from behind,” LeVine said. “I was fed up with them getting away with it so I gave the girl a shove and told her to calm down and she turned around and shoved me with both hands.

“The referee came and broke us up, but then tried to yell at me and Becca for it,” she added. “After a little argument with the ref he was threatening to card me and it’s a good thing I was subbed out before I went after that ref, ha ha…”

Despite losing 3-0, LeVine came away very proud of how her teammates rallied to each others defense time and again.

“After the game I received lots of high fives and hugs from my team. It was a pretty great moment,” she said. “Win or lose, we still appreciate the smallest things in the game that make us smile and we still have our pride and we have each other and we would not trade this team for anything.”

While the Islanders didn’t score, they came close several times, with Selina Medina, Vivien Valles and Perry, returning to the field after her injury, pushing play. Perry even got some payback, making a superb sliding tackle that delighted her teammates (and earned her a yellow card from an obviously biased ref.)

With Perry unable to play in goal in the second half, Morgan Zlystra, who was battling through a fever, stepped in and manned the net in the second half.

From LeVine bringing the thunder to numerous players staying on the field through pain, the Islanders impressed their coach, who gave the game hustle award not to a single player, but to the team as a whole.

“There was no quit in the girls today and we walked off the field smiling despite the score,” Scott Rosenkranz said. “Once again I have to say I’m proud of how they come together and play for each other.

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      The GU17 squad celebrates, little realizing that #1 fan Ethan Spark (far right, green hat) is photo bombing them. (Kali Barrio photo)

The Steel Curtain came to play.

Sparked by the stellar defensive play of its back line, the Whidbey Islanders GU17 select soccer squad fought to an impressive 0-0 tie against Seattle United SOUTH G’95 on the road Sunday.

The tie, the second in as many days for a squad depleted by injury and illness (they had one sub Sunday after having a completely empty bench a day before), left the Islanders at 1-2-3 on the season.

With both teams firing away at point-blank range, it was Islanders goalie Kenzie Perry and her support group (defenders Jennifer Spark, Jacki Ginnings, Paige Waterman and Alyssa Cross) who stepped up big-time. With Spark laying down beautiful slide tackles on anyone foolhardy enough to enter her territory, the unit was unbreakable.

“Good communication, good movement, great hustle, extremely aggressive and impenetrable once again,” said coach Sean LeVine as he prepared to flee the cold fog of Washington state for a vacation in sunny Cabo.

Before he departed, LeVine was impressed with the way his team hung in, despite still struggling to have a full roster.

“Despite having zero subs yesterday and only one today, the ladies held their own and did not give up,” LeVine said. “If we can hold teams to a draw on our tough days, then we ought to be a force when we are at full strength.”

The Islanders pushed the attack relentlessly in the second half, but couldn’t get a goal to fall. Erin Rosenkranz unloaded a point-blank shot that was snuffed, while Vivien Valles went low with a shot into the corner that the Seattle goalie managed to flick out of the net at the last second.

Along with his stout defense, LeVine also singled out the play of Kendra Warwick, who continues to be a multifaceted threat.

“Kendra continues to be a spark on this team with her speed, hustle, and tenacity,” LeVine said. “She creates a lot of chances for us.”

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   Becca Pabona (far right, blue coat) was smiling Saturday, as well, after she scored her team’s lone goal. (Kali Barrio photo)

It was iron woman soccer.

Playing minus four sick booters (Selena Medina, Ayla Muller, Emily Miesle and Cassie Neil) the Whidbey Islanders GU17 soccer squad had a painfully empty bench Saturday. Still, even without subs, they held their own and eked out a 1-1 tie with visiting Seattle United West.

Now 1-2-2 on the season, the Islanders were led by goalie Kenzie Perry, who played virtually flawlessly while pulling the entire 90 minutes in net. Whidbey coach Sean LeVine also singled out the commitment of Morgan Zylstra (“Played three different positions today and played them well! Great hustle!”) and gave the team’s hustle award to Erin Rosenkranz.

“She came back from her illness as a force!,” LeVine said. “Erin played all over the field today and did not appear to get tired. She played aggressive and refused to give up.”

Rosenkranz had a cross to Becca Pabona that came “a gnat’s toe” away from being poked into the back of the net, but Pabona hit pay dirt later when she hooked up with teammate Vivien Valles for their team’s lone score.

“Vivien scrapped her way into the box, leaving her victims shocked and weeping as she refused to let that ball out,” LeVine said.

Pabona finished with a half-volley, punching the ball past the flailing goalie.

LeVine came away satisfied with his team’s play, especially in light of the complete lack of firepower off the bench.

“Despite having zero substitutes today, they all played very hard and we still out-hustled and out-possessed them,” he said. “They fought through some pain and kept us in the game.”

The Islanders return to action with a game Sunday, Jan. 20, hopefully with more players available.

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“We can’t feel our legs!!” (Kali Barrio photos)

“My fingers are frozen this way!!”

If conditions were brutal Saturday, they were nearly unplayable Sunday.

Returning to the skating rink … uh … soccer field at Ft. Nugent, the Whidbey Islanders GU17 select soccer squad was barely able to play. After a tough 3-0 loss to Newport FC of Bellevue in the first of three State Cup tournament games, they might have wished they hadn’t.

Newport entered the game a huge favorite and did nothing to dispel that, pushing the action and notching two of their goals before halftime. The Islanders (1-2-1) changed up strategy in the second half, putting more attackers up front, but even then were unable to breach the visitors’ defense.

“I did expect that this team was going to be better than most teams we have faced and I was right,” said Islanders coach Sean LeVine. “They were bigger and older than 95% of our girls, but I also thought the ice rink we played on at Ft. Nugent would be an equalizer.”

Even getting the game started took a bit of time, as refs and coaches met and discussed postponing or cancelling the mid-winter game. For reasons that probably made little sense to fans who thought they were in Green Bay, the game went on.

“Field conditions were worse today than yesterday,” LeVine said. “The ground was very hard and slick. As the game went on, field conditions worsened as we witnessed more players sliding around.

“Field conditions are not the reason for the loss, though.”

Whidbey had scoring opportunities, but Newport escaped from harm’s way when Emily Miesle was tripped by the slick field as she went for one shot and Selena Medina crunched a second shot that was tipped over the bar at the last second by the goaltender.

LeVine singled out Jenn Spark for her play, which included a slide tackle on a speedy Newport player to save a one-on-one and a half volley, one touch shot off a throw in from Paige Waterman that just missed going in.

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Jacki Ginnings

If you can’t root for Jacki Ginnings, you might as well just give up now.

This is a young woman who has overcome doctors misdiagnosing her foot injury four times, a move to a new state which ripped her away from her all-star soccer team and the first coach she met on Whidbey Island almost destroying her confidence.

Thankfully, the Coupeville High School sophomore found new, better coaches, a bright future with a new team — the Whidbey Islanders GU17 squad — and a doctor who actually listened and made a proper diagnosis.

Now back on the pitch after missing the school soccer season, Ginnings, who has battled fallen arches and then suffered through treatments that worsened the condition, has remained surprisingly upbeat. And her joy for soccer — still intact.

“I love everything about soccer, from practices to games,” Ginnings said. “My favorite part of soccer, though, is playing with my team. The Islanders are definitely the best team I’ve ever played on. They’re like a second family to me!”

Refreshingly low-key about her talents (“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what my strengths as a player are”), Ginnings, a center defender, is, nonetheless, greatly appreciated by her coaches.

“She is a huge asset to our team,” Sean LeVine said. “She will fill in nicely for the CHS team next fall for the great senior departing center back, Anna Bailey.”

Ginnings first caught the soccer bug in San Diego four years ago. After two seasons of juggling play with a league and at the YMCA, she was selected by a select squad and shined for them before a move to Whidbey pulled her away.

Then came the first setback.

“When I first came here, I tried out for a local team but the coach told me I wasn’t good enough to play on his team, so I went to Sean’s team and have been playing for him ever since,” Ginnings said.”My coaches (LeVine and Scott Rosenkranz) have helped me so much over the past couple years.

“When I was told I wasn’t good enough to play soccer by a coach, I didn’t have much confidence after that,” she added. “But thanks to them, I’m now a pretty confident defender.”

Just when things were getting better, everything almost fell apart. Plagued by swollen, painful feet, she went to see a doctor, and was put in a weighted boot, then a cast, then back in the weighted boot, only to have the problem intensify each time.

Finally, a new doctor diagnosed her with fallen arches and cured most of her problems within a matter of days.

“My foot over-pronates a lot. Over time it was too much for my foot to handle. Fluid got into the bone causing the bone to become swollen,” Ginnings said. “I went to a podiatrist and he told me all I needed to do was wear orthotics. When I got the orthotics my foot started feeling better within a week, and now after a month of physical therapy, there is no pain.”

While she’s thrilled to be back on the field, she is still dealing with losing an entire soccer season. Since it’s her lone sport, the loss was a major one.

“I definitely had a hard time not playing soccer for high school; it’s by far the best part of school,” Ginnings said. “When I found out I wouldn’t be playing with the team, I was very upset, mostly at the doctor for misdiagnosing me four times.”

She channeled her anger into cheering on her teammates, however, and was there with them virtually every step of the way.

“Even though I couldn’t play, I went to almost all the games, and had a lot of fun watching them play,” Ginnings said.

A big fan of biology class (“My favorite teacher is Mrs. Eller, who is funny and super nice”), the movie “Pitch Perfect” (“It makes me laugh no matter how many times I watch it”) and the song “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees, Ginnings hails her coaches and her mom as a driving force in her life.

“They (LeVine and Rosenkranz) have an endless supply of patience, which makes them even better coaches,” Ginnings said. “They show patience with everything, from a slow day at practice or at a game, to when I was asking every five minutes if I could play soccer yet, but they always told me very patiently, ‘You haven’t even been cleared by a doctor yet.’

“The biggest inspiration has been my mom, Angela Stephan,” she added. “She has been by my side for everything, big and small, from school, having to drive me everywhere for practices and games, and dealing with me when I probably drove her crazy from how annoying I was when I had the cast on and had to rest for a month and do practically nothing, so I just sat around the house all day.”

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