Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Bellevue Christian’

Second time, not a charm!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on May 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Heather Nastali and the Wolves have one game left before starting the playoffs. (John Fisken photo)

   Heather Nastali and the Wolves have one game left before starting the playoffs. (John Fisken photo)

Everything was different this time around.

Different weather conditions. Different field conditions. And, unfortunately, a different outcome on the scoreboard.

Facing off with non-conference foe Bellevue Christian for a second time Thursday, the Coupeville High School softball squad “came out a bit flat and never really recovered,” falling 8-1.

The loss dropped the Wolves to 8-10 and gave them a season split with the Vikings, who they will see again in a week.

As the #3 team out of the Olympic League, Coupeville opens the playoffs May 20 at Sprinker Fields in Spanaway in a loser-out game against the #2 squad from the Nisqually League.

And guess what? That’s BC, which sits at 10-6.

When they play that rubber game, the Wolves will be looking to recreate their success from the first time around, when they triumphed 17-16 in a wild, wind-torn game on their home field.

Thursday, it was considerably hotter, less windy and the two teams played on turf and not grass.

Bellevue jumped out to an early lead, scoring four in the first and two more in the second.

Coupeville finally scraped together a run in the fourth, plating Katrina McGranahan, but the rally fizzled too quickly.

Sarah Wright was nailed at third trying to advance on an error, and back-to-back strikeouts (two of 12 on the day for the Wolves) slammed the brakes on any momentum.

McGranahan, who has been limited of late in the pitcher’s circle as she fought back from an injury, went the distance, whiffing nine.

She also reached base three times, collecting half of Coupeville’s four hits.

Veronica Crownover and Lauren Rose added singles, with Rose punctuating her birthday by pulling off an unassisted double play at third.

The smooth-fielding sophomore snagged a liner, then pounced on a runner straying off the bag in the day’s best pro-Wolf moment.

Before it heads to the postseason, Coupeville has one more non-league game, traveling to La Conner Monday. First pitch is set for 4 PM.

“Would really like to rally the fans to come out and root us on in our last regular season game,” said CHS coach Kevin McGranahan.

Read Full Post »

Foul finish!!

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on May 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Zane Bundy

   Zane Bundy knocked home a rebound late in the first half Thursday for Coupeville’s lone score in a 2-1 playoff loss. (John Fisken photo)

In a perfect world, the players on the field decide the game.

But, no one ever said soccer was perfect.

Stabbed in the heart by two second-half penalty kicks, scores on which goalie Connor McCormick had to battle the sun in his eyes, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad fell 2-1 Thursday in their district playoff opener (and closer).

The loss, which came on Oak Harbor High School’s turf field, came at the hands of the Nisqually League’s #4 seed, Bellevue Christian, and ended the Wolves season at 5-9-1.

The Vikings (6-7-1) advance to play Vashon Island (8-2-4) in another loser-out game Saturday.

Thursday’s battle was a rematch of a non-conference game from March, when Coupeville fell 7-4 in a wild, high-scoring affair on its home field.

In that game, the Wolves were without McCormick, who was serving a one-game suspension after being given a red card for an inadvertent hand ball a day before.

This time Coupeville had their senior net-minder in place, and the lanky one played superbly, batting balls away and controlling the flow of the game.

While McCormick and his defense were untouchable in the first half, the Viking goalie couldn’t say the same.

During a wild scramble in front of the Bellevue net in the game’s 33rd minute, Coupeville smacked a shot from close range that was partially deflected.

Putting his head in the right place at the right time, senior Zane Bundy, a four-year starter, banged home the rebound into the left corner of the net to stake the Wolves to a 1-0 lead.

It was his sixth goal of the season.

The lead held up until two minutes into the second half, when Bellevue was awarded a penalty kick after what seemed like a fairly innocuous “collision” between two players scrambling for the ball.

Taking advantage of the sweet opportunity, the Vikings knotted things up, with the shooter faking right, then flicking the ball left and just past McCormick’s fingertips.

With the game even, the two teams battled back-and-forth the rest of the way, with Bellevue noticeably pushing hard on offense.

It paid off when the Vikings were awarded a second penalty kick with under seven minutes left in regulation.

Why they got it is something you’d have to ask someone with a deeper understanding of soccer, cause, to the layman, nothing untoward happened on the play.

Bellevue launched the ball into the net on the PK, however, suddenly putting a huge amount of pressure on the Wolves, who had to play from behind for the first time in the game.

Coupeville got the ball into Bellevue’s half of the field several times in the final moments, and had one or two good looks near the end, but nothing clean, and nothing that would go in.

The loss marked the fourth straight year Coupeville went one-and-done in the playoffs, though the one-goal margin was their closest postseason defeat since 2013.

The last Wolf boys’ soccer playoff win came back on May 2, 2012, when CHS knocked off Meridian 1-0.

Thursday’s game marked the end of the run for seniors Bundy, McCormick, Abraham Leyva, Tanner Kircher, Taylor Chiles, Loren Nelson, Jose Marcos, Andrea Avila, Garrett Compton, Cody Menges and manager Sebastian Wurzrainer.

Read Full Post »

Switch it to playoff mode!!

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , on May 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville gets a rematch with Bellevue Christian Thursday, but this time with starting goalie Connor McCormick. (John Fisken photo)

   Coupeville gets a rematch with Bellevue Christian Thursday, but this time with starting goalie Connor McCormick. (John Fisken photo)

Time for the big payback.

After wrapping their regular season Tuesday with a hard-fought 4-0 loss to two-time 1A Olympic League champ Klahowya, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad is postseason bound.

Their first opponent and possibly their second? Both familiar foes.

The Wolves (5-8-1) host Bellevue Christian (5-7-1) Thursday at Oak Harbor’s stadium (6 PM) in a loser-out district playoff game that offers a chance at redemption.

The two schools met in a non-conference game Mar. 30, and while the Vikings won 7-4 in Coupeville that day, the Wolves were playing without starting goaltender Connor McCormick.

The senior was serving a one-game suspension after receiving a red card in a game the day before for an inadvertent handball.

If Coupeville wins Thursday, they’ll advance on for another crack at revenge, with a road game Saturday at Kentridge High School against Vashon Island (8-2-4).

That’s the team the Wolves were playing when McCormick was ejected for preventing “an obvious chance to score,” when his hand connected with the ball as he was scrambling to get back in the goalie box with six minutes to play.

Backup goalies Jose Marcos and Tanner Kircher stepped in and held Vashon scoreless through the end of regulation and overtime as the two teams eventually accepted a 1-1 draw.

If Coupeville knocks off both Nisqually League teams, it advances to the double-elimination round of districts May 10-14. Two wins there would qualify them for state.

While CHS doesn’t charge admission for regular season soccer, the postseason is a different beast.

Prices for Thursday’s game at OHHS:

Adults and students without an ASB — $8

Middle school/high school students (with ASB) — $5

Elementary school students (under 12) — $4

Senior citizens (62 and over) — $5

Preschool (with parent) — free

Read Full Post »

No respect!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Jae LeVine and the Wolves keep on gunnin' down foes, and computers keep ignoring reality. (John Fisken photo)

   Jae LeVine and the Wolves keep on gunnin’ down foes, and computers keep ignoring reality. (John Fisken photo)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I liked to rib the guy who used to run the ScoreCzar website when his eeeeeeevil computer “Debbie,” would spit out her high school rankings, and, invariably, stiff Coupeville teams.

He had a good sense of humor about it, and, I have to admit, a lot of times his Skynet-lovin’ mistress proved to be right.

The website switched bosses after basketball season, and as we waited for the first spring sports rankings to hit, I momentarily thought maybe Wolf Nation would embrace our new overlords.

And then the new bucket of bolts — I’m naming her “Wanda Sue” — kicked out her softball rankings tonight, and all I could do was shake my head.

Why, you ask?

Because the hottest team in Cow Town, the run-gun-and-stun Team of Destiny, the CHS softball team, sits seven slots behind a team they beat.

Yes, ladies and gents, “Wanda Sue” is dead sure that Bellevue Christian (ranked #20 in 1A) is better than Coupeville (#27), despite the fact we saw the Wolves beat the Vikings 17-16 in eight innings.

And, this is where the doo-doo gets deeper … despite the fact CHS tops BCHS in every category.

I know the computer relies less on wins and losses and more on strength of schedule, but that doesn’t explain this.

Looking at Bellevue’s schedule, there is no magical ah-ha moment to explain this. None. Zippo. Zilch.

You got some ‘splainin to do, “Wanda Sue.”

Let’s look at the stats.

Wins: Coupeville is 6-1, BC 4-1.

Losses: BC’s was to the #27 team in 1A (you might have heard of them), while Coupeville’s was to the #18 team in 1A (Sultan).

Head-to-head: Advantage, Wolves, duh.

Record against fellow 1A schools: BC is 2-1, with two wins over #39 Vashon Island, while Coupeville is 3-1 (with wins over #20 BC, #35 South Whidbey and #48 Port Townsend).

Record against other divisions: BC is 2-0, with a win over a 1B school (Forest Ridge) and a 2A school (Highline), while Coupeville is 3-0 against 2B schools (two over Concrete, one over Friday Harbor).

Forest Ridge, while ranked #11 in its class, sits in the smallest class in the state.

Highline, while a 2A school, is a bad team (#51) that has won one game, narrowly, over a really bad team, #60 Renton.

Point differential: Who knows if “Wanda Sue” considers this, but Coupeville is +31, while BC is +25.

Unless I’m missing something, the Wolves have the edge in every category, including WINNING HEAD-TO-HEAD (which, in the real world, we like to refer to as “important”), and yet, like Rodney Dangerfield, they can’t get no respect.

Now, of course, there is one really easy (really hard) way to rectify matters.

When Coupeville returns from Spring Break, it takes its 6-1 record on the road Apr. 12 to face Lynden Christian (5-0), which currently sits at #1 in the ScoreCzar rankings.

Pull off the huge upset win in that one and even a heartless computer will have to believe in the Wolves.

Maybe.

To see the current “rankings”, pop over to:

http://www.scoreczar.org/classifications/324-high-school-fastpitch-wa1a

Read Full Post »

Goals galore!!

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , on March 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Garrett Compton

   Garrett Compton (10), seen here in an earlier game, made a sensational rolling save on a near-goal Wednesday. (John Fisken photo)

The streak lives on.

Coupeville High School senior Abraham Leyva beat the clock by less than 30 seconds Wednesday, flipping in a goal to cap his team’s boys’ soccer game against visiting Bellevue Christian.

But, while it was the fifth straight game that Leyva had scored in this season, it was also the fifth straight time he and his teammates exited the field without a win.

Falling 7-4 in a high-powered shoot-out with the Vikings, the Wolves slid to 0-4-1 in non-conference play.

Coupeville, playing without starting goaltender Connor McCormick (serving a one-game suspension for a red card issued for a hand ball the day before), fell behind early and could never catch back up.

Bellevue knocked in a goal 80 seconds into the game, then tacked on a pair more in the game’s 25th and 27th minute.

Both the second and third scores were fairly lucky ones, with balls taking a pro-Bellevue bounce during heated scrums in front of the net.

Despite the early 3-0 deficit, Wolf goalie Jose Marcos played well, making a series of saves, and got a little help from one of his teammates on a crucial play.

Flying into action from the side, Garrett Compton tumbled head-over-rear in front of the net, snagging a wayward ball with his knees as he did so and preventing the ball from bouncing past Marcos, who was down on the ground after blocking a previous shot.

The Wolves got on the board in the game’s 29th minute when Ethan Spark unloaded a deep, booming shot from almost midfield that took off skyward, then suddenly snapped and dropped over the Bellevue goalie’s head at the last second.

Very reminiscent of a lot of the goals scored by his older sister, CHS senior Jenn Spark, during her run on the pitch, it was his first goal of the season.

After giving up two quick scores to start the second half, Coupeville fought back with three second-half goals to keep things interesting.

William Nelson, trailing the play, banged home his second score of the year, before Sebastian Davis hit a shot that caught the very edge of the net for his first goal of 2016.

Leyva then wrapped things up, pinning the BC goalie on one side of the net, before flipping the ball over his outstretched arm for the 30th goal of his prep career.

JV nipped: Andre Avila knocked in a first-half goal to stake Coupeville to an early lead, but Bellevue slipped in two late scores to escape with a 2-1 win.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »