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Lobos nip Wolves in pitch battle

Posted in soccer, tagged CHS Wolves, Lopez Island, Northwest League, Sage Arends, Soccer on October 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Edmund Kunz tracks the flight of the soccer ball. (Photo by Coupeville High School yearbook staff)

It was a tale of two halves, with a strong finish negated by a slow start.

Despite rallying after halftime Thursday, the Coupeville High School co-ed soccer squad fell 3-1 to visiting Lopez Island in a battle for sole possession of second place in the Northwest 2B/1B League.

The loss drops the Wolves to 3-2 in conference action, 5-6-1 overall, while Lopez gets to 4-1, which leaves the Lobos a game off of frontrunner Orcas Island, which sits at 5-0.

CHS is still very much in the playoff battle, with the top four teams from the nine schools playing boys’ soccer in the NWL making the postseason.

Coupeville returns to the pitch with a home game against Providence Classical Christian Tuesday Oct. 29 on Senior Night.

After that comes a road trip to La Conner Nov. 1 and a home clash with Orcas Nov. 2.

When the Wolves get back into action, the goal will be to replicate the more fired-up attack which helped them hold the advantage in the second half against Lopez.

Trailing 3-0 at the break, without having gotten off a shot on goal across the first 40 minutes, CHS mixed things up and it paid off.

“We came out in the first half really slow, almost asleep,” said Coupeville coach Kimberly Kisch. “Then we adjusted and got much more of the action happening up top.

“I’m very happy with how we played in the second half.”

Ayden Wyman turns the action upfield. (Finn Price photo)

While the Wolves had trouble mounting an offensive charge before the break, they put together one especially strong run right after the break.

Just a hair over two minutes into the second half, Cael Wilson put a pass on Preston Epp’s foot, and his fellow senior bashed a shot which almost beat the Lopez goalie.

While the Lobo netminder managed to punch the ball free, it bounced in the direction of Wolf sniper Sage Arends, who nimbly popped the orb into the back of the net for his third score of the season.

The two teams played a fast ‘n furious second half, with Lopez picking up a yellow card for one play, while getting away with another tussle where a Coupeville player got nailed in the face by a wayward elbow and crashed hard to the pitch.

Coupeville’s defense kept Lopez at bay over the final 40 minutes of play, with goaltender Hurlee Bronec making several strong stops on Lobo shots.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, they were playing from behind for most of the game, after Lopez broke through with an opening goal just 90 seconds into the game.

The visitors added two more scores, one in the 22nd minute and another in the 36th, to get comfortably ahead by the break.

While Coupeville was looking for a win, Kisch came away pleased with how the team responded to adversity.

She praised Wolf 8th grader Brian Thompson for “standout work in maintaining good position,” Ayden Wyman for “solid work in the middle,” and Dane Hadsall for a “couple of great blocks.”

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Loss stings, booters remain in playoff chase

Posted in soccer, tagged Ayden Wyman, Cael Wilson, CHS Wolves, Friday Harbor, Northwest League, Soccer on October 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Tamsin Ward and the Wolf co-ed soccer squad are tied for second place in the Northwest 2B/1B League. (Jackie Saia photo)

A bump in the road.

Playing on Friday Harbor Tuesday, the Coupeville High School co-ed soccer squad took a brief step backwards, held scoreless for only the second time in 11 games this season.

Blanked 3-0 by their hosts, the Wolves had their three-game winning streak cracked and fall to 3-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-5-1 overall.

Coupeville is in a tie with Lopez Island (3-1) for second place in the nine-team NWL boys’ soccer standings, trailing just Orcas Island (5-0) with four games left on the regular season schedule.

Next up is a big one, with the Wolves squaring off with Lopez at Mickey Clark Field Thursday in a game scheduled to kick off at 4:00 PM.

After that, CHS closes with a home clash against Providence Classical Christian (Oct. 29), a road trip to La Conner (Nov. 1) and a home rumble with Orcas (Nov. 2).

Tuesday was the second time the Wolves played Friday Harbor this season, but an 8-3 loss back on Sept. 17 was in a game considered a non-conference clash between league foes.

This one hurt more, as it affects playoff positioning and came in a must-win game for the always-tough Wolverines, who came into the day unexpectedly struggling at 0-3 in NWL play.

CHS coach Robert Wood praised senior goaltender Hurlee Bronec, saying the netminder “played like a professional and saved it from being 7-0.”

The Wolves return to their home pitch for three of the final four regular season games. (Finn Price photo)

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Wolf grads chase college sports dreams

Posted in Football, soccer, Wolves in college, tagged Ben Smith, CHS Wolves, football, Lauren Marrs, Nezi Keiper, Soccer on October 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Former Wolf superstars (left to right) Lauren Marrs, Maddie Georges, and Nezi Keiper reunite at a college soccer game. (Emili Marrs photo)

The uniforms have changed, but the dream remains the same.

Former Coupeville High School athletes Nezi Keiper and Ben Smith are competing at the college level this fall, operating in different states and different sports.

Keiper is a freshman defender on the Edmonds College women’s soccer team and brings the same rough-and-tumble playing style to the pitch which endeared her to Wolf fans.

At a recent game against Skagit Valley College, she got to run into Lauren Marrs, a fab frosh goaltender who suits up for SVC.

Marrs was a standout athlete for Coupeville in her younger days, continuing through middle school, before attending Oak Harbor High School from her freshman season on.

Ben Smith is chasing that gridiron dream. (Photo courtesy Deb Smith)

Across the country, Smith is a senior linebacker for Concordia University in Chicago.

He’s racked up 10 tackles, including one for a loss, while playing his first season with the Cougars.

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“They played their hearts out!”

Posted in soccer, tagged CHS Wolves, Mount Vernon Christian, Northwest League, shoot-out, Soccer, undefeated on October 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Wolf pitch coaches celebrate an epic win on a stormy night. (Photos courtesy Kimberly Kisch)

Storm? What storm?

Sure, sheets of rain slashed down on the prairie Friday night, while wind hit like Indiana Jones cracking his bullwhip.

But a little pre-winter weather never bothered the Coupeville High School co-ed soccer team.

Enduring the elements in all their ferocious glory while the media was quite happy to nibble on candy up in the warm, dry press box, the Wolves pulled off the biggest win of the season.

Rallying to knock off ultra-dangerous Mount Vernon Christian 3-2 (courtesy a victory in a shootout after two scoreless overtime periods), CHS moves into sole possession of second place in the nine-team Northwest 2B/1B League boys’ soccer standings.

The Wolves head into the weekend at 3-0 in conference action, 5-4-1 overall, and sit a half-game back of state powerhouse Orcas Island (4-0) in the standings.

Next up is a trip to Friday Harbor Tuesday, Oct. 22, before the Wolves close the regular season with three of four at home.

When they return to Mickey Clark Field, hopefully the weather will be nicer than it was Friday.

Though maybe the Wolves won’t want it to be, as they excelled while being buffeted from all angles by liquid sunshine and howling wind.

Coupeville goalkeeper Hurlee Bronec got things going with a nifty opening save on a ball which came in on a severe curve thanks to the gusts.

The MVC netminder wasn’t as lucky, failing to stop a laser off the bionic toe of Cael Wilson less than five minutes into the game.

Launching a shot from the far corner, the Wolf senior let the ball ride a wave of rapidly moving air, and the orb twisted and turned, then splashed home into the back of the net, just out of range of any pesky Hurricane defenders.

It was Wilson’s team-leading sixth goal of the season, and the twelfth of his five-year run as a Wolf.

That breaks a tie with Zane Bundy for #8 on the boys’ career scoring chart and moves Cael one goal away from tying older brother Aidan, who netted 13 during his stellar career.

They survived and thrived.

While the visitors soon knotted things up at 1-1, Bronec fought off numerous incoming balls and held fast as time ticked away in the first half.

That gave Preston Epp time to work some magic while operating in the middle of a soggy field, and the CHS senior bashed home his ninth career goal to push his squad ahead 2-1 heading into halftime.

The second half featured a bevy of Hurricanes, including their goalie at times, mounting a fierce attempt to even things up.

Hair plastered, shoulders slumped, a mix of pain and frustration on their faces, the MVC booters finally found that elusive score, with less than three minutes to spare.

Giving everyone stuck in the middle of a monsoon/typhoon/twister event exactly what they craved most — the chance to stay out on the field for another 20 minutes…

Bronec was a wonder in the two five-minute overtimes, punching balls away with both of his fists of fury, while his MVC counterpart snared a header which could have won the game for Coupeville.

Enter the most loved/most hated way to end a game in any sport — the shoot-out.

When two goalies stare down five shooters and try to guess which way the ball is going, and luck often overrules talent.

The first two shooters hit paydirt, with a ‘Cane popping the ball into the right corner followed by Wilson tickling the bottom left corner with his shot.

Then, two misses, with Wolf freshman Lillian Ketterling cracking a beauty which finished just a little too high thanks to the rampaging wind.

A second MVC miss hurt the visitors badly, especially when Epp and 8th grade ace Brian Thompson both came up big on their attempts.

Holding a 3-2 lead with one shooter left for each team, Bronec stared down the last MVC player to come his way, then celebrated as the shot clanked off the bar with a thunk loud enough to be heard through even a prairie storm.

That set off a celebration among the Wolves and the fans brave enough to watch the game from the rain-splattered stands.

It also left CHS coaches Robert Wood and Kimberly Kisch wearing epic smiles.

“It’s always a tough game with these guys, and a big win for us,” Wood said. “They played their hearts out.”

“They all played with so much passion the entire time,” Kisch added. “Really, really exciting for us!”

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Thompson terrific, Wolves win

Posted in soccer, tagged CHS Wolves, Grace Academy, Northwest League, road win, Soccer on October 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Brian Thompson fuels up after a busy day on the soccer pitch. (Robert Wood photo)

The ancient prophecy states – a young gun will carry them to nirvana.

If you believe that, then Tuesday’s trip to Marysville played out perfectly for the Coupeville High School co-ed soccer team.

With Wolf 8th grader Brian Thompson banging home the first two goals of his prep pitch career, the Wolves nipped host Grace Academy 2-1, and now find themselves battling for the top spot in the Northwest 2B/1B League.

CHS is 4-4-1 overall, 2-0 in conference action, tied with Lopez Island, La Conner, and Orcas Island atop the nine-team league.

At least for the moment, as Orcas also played Tuesday, and a win against Friday Harbor will put them a half-game up on everyone else.

Next up for Coupeville is a home rumble Friday, Oct. 18 with Mount Vernon Christian (0-2, 5-3-1).

Kickoff is 6:00 PM at Mickey Clark Field, and it’s free to attend.

After playing four of their last five on the road, the Wolves now close with four of six on their home pitch.

Tuesday’s road game wasn’t the prettiest ever played, but CHS came up big when it needed to, according to Wolf coach Robert Wood.

“A chaotic game. No real substantial form, but success when needed,” he said.

“Brian’s touch and focus were absolutely perfect when it counted.”