Coupeville Sports

Wolf junior Cael Wilson has scored for Coupeville High School soccer in all four seasons he’s played. (Nick Guay photo)

Long day, all the feelings.

The Coupeville High School soccer squad jumped island to island Wednesday, alighting on Lopez, where the Wolves played two games before making the long return trip to Whidbey.

The journey home was made with mixed emotions, as the JV team basked in the afterglow of its first victory, while the varsity squad dealt with a loss which erases much of its playoff hopes.

How the day played out:

Varsity:

“Kids are broken. Me too…”

So spoke Wolf coach Robert Wood after an emotional last-second defeat.

At one point this season, the Coupeville varsity was ranked as high as #4 in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association RPI rankings.

But a recent three-game skid in conference action, made worse by a 3-2 loss in overtime to Lopez, will make it exceedingly difficult for the Wolves to advance to the playoffs.

Postseason hopes are not completely dead, but they are on serious life support.

The loss drops CHS to 2-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-5 overall, and pins them in 6th place in a nine-team league from which the top four teams advance to the district tourney.

Defending state champ Friday Harbor (6-0 in league), Providence Classical Christian (5-1), and Mount Vernon Christian (4-1) are close to locking down the top three slots.

After that, Lopez (3-2) and Orcas Island (3-2) sit a game-and-a-half up on Coupeville in the battle for the final playoff berth, while Grace Academy (1-5), La Conner (1-5), and Cedar Park Christian-Bothell (0-5) are all but eliminated.

The Wolves host La Conner Friday for Senior Night, then close the regular season on the road Oct. 24 with a game on Orcas Island.

Wednesday’s game came within a few seconds of being decided in a penalty kick shootout, but Lopez broke through to score the winner in stoppage time at the tail end of the last overtime.

Coupeville’s goals came off the feet of sophomore Ezra Boilek and junior Cael Wilson.

Boilek, in his first year as a CHS booter, tallied his team-high seventh goal of the season, while Wilson punched in his second.

Now in his fourth season as a Wolf after making his varsity debut as an 8th grader, the latter has recorded six career goals.

Josh Lujan notched his first high school goal Wednesday on Lopez Island. (Jackie Saia photo)

JV:

They saved their best for last.

The Wolf JV, a co-ed team playing in a boys’ league, blanked Lopez 2-0 behind goals from Josh Lujan and Solomon Rudat.

It was the first time this season both players had scored, and the victory lifts the second unit’s final record to 1-3-1.