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Archive for the ‘Girls Soccer’ Category

“Best game for this team so far!!”

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , on July 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Gillian Crossley

Gillian Crossley netted her first goal as an Islander Saturday.

Bounce back, big time.

A day after being drilled by the #9 team in the nation, the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad roared back Saturday to play their “best game for this team so far!”

While the Islanders ended up with a 2-2 draw against Tacoma FC at the NCSAA College Showcase Tournament in Puyallup, Whidbey coach Sean LeVine came away pleased with 99.2% of what he saw go down.

“What a great game, and we really deserved the win,” LeVine said. “Tacoma FC was a good team, and I warned the team that if we let up at all they could easily get back into the game, and that’s what happened, but we looked like the better team for most of the game.”

The two teams had fought to a draw three weeks ago, but in that game LeVine felt Tacoma was the better squad. Not so Saturday.

“Our possession, speed, and hustle looked the best it’s ever been today and we really looked like the better team for 70 minutes of that game,” LeVine said.

Newcomer Lydia Peplinski “was a difference maker today, battling hard for the ball as our center mid.”

Her defining play came when she set up fellow first-year Islander Gillian Crossley on a perfectly-placed header.

That allowed Crossley to go one-on-one with the Tacoma goalie, beating her on a ball neatly plopped into the side netting.

Leading 1-0 coming out of halftime, Whidbey “let up a little for 10 minutes”, allowing Tacoma to rattle off back-to-back goals.

The Islanders refused to buckle, however, as the veterans stepped up and took control.

Becca Pabona knocked “a beautiful cross into the box” that goal-scoring machine Jacalyn Hefflefinger nimbly redirected with her head into the back of the net, leaving Tacoma’s goalie looking foolish as she grasped at empty air.

Neither squad could get a tie-breaker after that, but the Islanders used their entire roster, giving every girl substantial playing time.

The three-day tourney is a showcase event for college coaches looking for possible recruits for their programs.

Whidbey will wrap play Sunday when it faces Chinook United from Calgary. On the menu, according to assistant coach Scott Rosenkranz, is “Canadian bacon for lunch tomorrow!”

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Tomorrow’s another day!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , on July 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

spark

  Islanders (left to right) Jenn Spark, Kendra Warwick and Anni Field, during an earlier 3 on 3 tournament. (Kali Barrio photo)

Ayla Muller

Ayla Muller

“We had the toughest match-up we’ve ever faced today.”

That was about all GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer coach Sean LeVine could say, after watching his squad be dismantled by one of the best teams in the country.

Playing on day one of the prestigious NCSAA College Showcase Tournament in Puyallup, the Islanders drew the Washington Premier FC ECNL, a team that competes nationally at the highest level possible in US youth soccer.

Not surprisingly, the Islanders fell, hard, to the #9 team in the entire nation, losing 6-0.

But even in the team’s worst loss in three years, there were positives.

A strong second half, when the Islanders gave up just one goal, and the return of goalie Ayla Muller, who played for the first time in a year after recovering from a torn ACL, were highlights.

“It was tough,” LeVine said. “We held them solidly for a good 15 minutes, but once the first goal went in we became a little hesitant and let too many unchallenged crosses into our box.

“(Starting goaltender) Kenzie (Perry) did what she could, but all goals were scored from point blank range,” he added. “Second half was much better, as I abandoned a new formation our team had never played before and our players relaxed a bit.”

While it was a tough loss to absorb, it will make the Islanders a better team.

“It was a great lesson for our players,” LeVine said. “Our defense is not used to going up against players with dribbling skill, speed, and perfectly timed runs. This game highlighted our weaknesses and will make us better.

“In the mean time we are licking our wounds in the hotel room, but everyone seems to be in good spirits.”

The Islanders return to action Saturday when they face Tacoma FC, a team they tied earlier this season. They wrap up the three-day tourney Sunday against Chinook FC from Canada.

The tournament is played in front of a large group of college coaches and offers players a chance to get on the recruiting radar of college programs.

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“I love being a leader and an example!!”

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU18 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , on July 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Lydia Peplinski

Lydia Peplinski

Lydia Peplinski lives and loves the soccer life.

One of the newest members of the GU18 Whidbey Islanders select squad, she has been playing since she was old enough to kick a ball.

As she heads into her sophomore year at Oak Harbor High School, the center midfielder is as much in love with the sport now as she has ever been.

“I love to run the field; I like having the responsibility of the flow of the game,” Peplinski said. “I love being a leader and an example.

“I enjoy being outside, I enjoy the big team, I enjoy the game, I enjoy everything about it,” she added. “There’s no place I’d rather be!”

The daughter of former OHHS athletes Tony and Amy (Preder) Peplinski (who I actually wrote about back in my Whidbey News-Times days), Lydia brings brains and natural skill to the pitch.

“My strengths would be my leadership, footwork and how, since I’ve been playing so long, I can predict the game,” Peplinski said. “I’m smart on the field.

“I definitely need to work on speed,” she added. “I can be extremely fast if I worked at it; three years ago I’d beat (teammate) Gillian (Crossley), now she’s whooshing past me!”

Peplinski started early (“I’ve been playing since I was a kid!”), and, after several years of rec ball, listened to the urging of coach Troy Cowan, who now calls the shots for the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer team, and moved up.

“He pushed me to join club soccer,” Peplinski said. “I began forming relationships with my teammates and had personally my favorite coach so far, Ryan Baker. ”

Away from the field, she is a strong student (“MATH! I love math! It comes easy to me and they seem to be the best classes”), and is deeply committed to music.

“MUSIC! Huge, huge part in my life,” Peplinski said. “I’ve played piano for eight years now and sax and clarinet for four. It’s my passion beside soccer.”

Now in her fourth season of select soccer, she draws on numerous people, both local and far away, for inspiration.

“Big influences? Everyone,” Peplinski said. “From the people that are on TV that are amazing soccer players, to my mom and dad with all their support, the coaches that made soccer fun and the people who don’t get the chance to play.”

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Speedy Crossley burns up soccer pitch!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU18 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , on June 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Gillian Crossley

Gillian Crossley

Crossley and her Islander teammates prepare for their season-opening tourney, where they threw down three straight shutouts. (Kali Barrio photo)

   Crossley and her Islander teammates prepare for their season-opening tourney, where they threw down three straight shutouts. (Kali Barrio photo)

Gillian Crossley made a major change in her life when she was in the fifth grade.

A youth football cheerleader up until that point, Crossley began to hang out with soccer players. What began as a sideline activity soon transformed into a new way of life and a soccer junkie was born.

“I would go out at recess with them and kick a soccer ball around with them,” Crossley said. “That’s when I decided that I would like to try something new and join recreation soccer.”

Crossley, who will be a sophomore at Oak Harbor High School in the fall, never looked back.

After playing rec soccer for three seasons, she tried out for her first select squad, the GU13 Whidbey Islanders. Waiting for the call back put her on pins and needles, but paid off nicely.

“My friends that had been playing soccer for a long time wanted me to try out for their team,” Crossley said. “I was really nervous, but two long days passed, waiting for call backs and I had made it!

“My first season on select, my coach, Ryan Baker, would put me nowhere but center defense,” she added. “He pushed me to get better and become a stronger player. That is how I became a forward.”

Now in her fourth season of select soccer, Crossley, who bounced between JV and varsity for OHHS as a freshman, made the jump to join the GU18 Islanders this season.

She made her debut at a tournament this past weekend and immediately drew praise for her play.

“Gillian was a pleasant surprise at the striker position,” said Islander coach Sean LeVine. “Her speed and strong beast-like presence up top opened up several opportunities to score and we expect her to do very well.”

Crossley, who enjoys the camaraderie she has with her teammates (“I enjoy playing soccer with my friends. Soccer has caused me to develop strong relationships with some of the most amazing people”) is still a work in progress, like most younger players.

“As a player, one of my strongest strengths would be my speed,” she said. “It’s always nice to have speed as a forward.

“If there was something I had to work on, I would work on my foot skills and trapping the ball out of the air,” Crossley added. “I will really need to get used to trapping the ball out of the air with (Islander goalie) Kenzie (Perry’s) amazing drop kicks.”

When she’s not on the soccer pitch, Crossley enjoys her science classes (“I have always been best at science. I am lucky I enjoy science, because there are very few things I like”) and spending time with her friends.

And, since many of her friends are equally involved in soccer, so much the better.

“I am great friends with a lot of people from the Islander teams,” Crossley said. “It’s nice having friends that all have something in common.”

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Kenzie Perry is a beast!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU18 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , on June 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

and

The Islanders get a pre-game talk under dramatic skies. (Kali Barrio photo)

Kenzie Perry

Kenzie Perry

No goals for you.

Assisted by a stellar defensive line, GU18 Whidbey Islanders net-minder Kenzie Perry was in lock-down mode this weekend, pulling off three consecutive shutouts at a prestigious tourney in Tukwila.

And while the Islanders couldn’t get one into the back of the net themselves, the resulting scoreless ties against the Rainier Valley Slammers, Kent United and Tacoma FC left Whidbey coach Sean LeVine sporting a huge smile.

“We had a great weekend! That’s three shutouts against some tough teams in a tough tourney!,” LeVine said. “This is the best our Islanders have ever done in this tourney.”

Making their third appearance in the tournament, which is held at the Starfire Complex, home of the Seattle Sounders, the Islanders fell just a goal short of playing in the championship.

And they did it at less than full-strength.

Whidbey had defender Paige Waterman playing on a sprained ankle, was missing several key players and had one star — Oak Harbor’s Becca Pabona — playing through jet lag after returning from a European trip Friday night.

“Our defense proved, once again, that they can take any team anytime,” LeVine said. “Kenzie was lights out in the goal, making at least one amazing diving save in each game.”

Her teammates flew around the field all weekend, chipping in with solid effort and inspired play.

Kendra Warwick and Erin Rosenkranz “solidified the center of the field and made it extremely difficult for the other team to play through the middle.”

Gillian Crossley, seeing her first action as a new member of the Islanders, “was a pleasant surprise at the striker position.”

“Her speed and strong beast-like presence up top opened up several opportunities to score and we expect her to do very well,” LeVine said.

“Our scoring machine, Jacalyn Hefflefinger, didn’t convert one this weekend, but she played out of position one day,” he added. “When she went to her bread and butter striker spot she was inches away from converting twice on crosses from Micky LeVine and Kendra.”

The Islanders will take a couple of days off to rest and then will begin preparing for their next tournament. That one is a huge one — the NCSAA College Showcase Tournament in Puyallup July 18-20.

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