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Posts Tagged ‘boys soccer’

Coupeville’s Chayse Van Velkinburgh scored four goals while playing with his select soccer squad at the annual Skagit Firecracker tourney. (Photo courtesy Dustin Van Velkinburgh)

He’s a goal-scoring wizard, he is.

Coupeville 2nd grader Chayse Van Velkinburgh exploded the nets at the 25th Skagit Firecracker soccer tournament in Mount Vernon.

Whidbey’s answer to Ronaldo peppered rival goalies all weekend, smacking four goals into the back of the net to spark his select soccer squad to a stellar performance.

Van Velkinburgh plays for U9 Northwest United, and he and his team played up a bracket at the tourney, competing in the U10 division and claiming 2nd place.

NWU fell 2-0 to the ISC Gunners in the first round, but then came back strong to dropkick Titans FC 9-6 and Shoreline Sports 3-1.

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With 38 goals in two seasons, CHS soccer star Derek Leyva was eight scores from claiming the school’s career record. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Leyva is moving out of state, bringing an end to one of the more electrifying runs by a CHS athlete.

The thrill is gone.

Or, at least he will be in just a few days.

Coupeville High School is losing its top active soccer scorer, as Derek Leyva is moving out of state Saturday, bringing an end to one of the more electrifying runs by a Wolf athlete.

He’ll depart having scored 38 goals in two seasons for the CHS pitch squad.

Derek Leyva tossed in a Wolf boys single-season record 24 goals as a sophomore in 2018, then netted 14 more this spring.

His 38 goals stands second all-time on the school’s career list, trailing just cousin Abraham Leyva, who knocked in 45 scores in the three seasons he played in Coupeville.

Mia (35 goals) and Kalia Littlejohn (33) are #1 and #2 on the girls chart, and #3 and #4 in school history.

Abraham’s younger brother, Aram, who’s #3 on the boys career list (and #5 overall) with 29 goals, now has an open path at the career mark heading into his senior season.

With quick bursts of speed, the ability to pump fake defenders into the stands, an often-surprising amount of toughness, and an artful scoring touch, Derek Leyva was like no other booter we’ve seen in a Wolf uniform.

He also surprised a lot of people with how strong a football player he was during his junior season last fall.

We knew he had a powerful leg, and the first couple of times he took the field, it was as a kicker, which was to be expected.

But, as the season progressed, Derek Leyva made an impact on every part of the game, proving to be a sure-handed receiver and a sturdy part of the Wolf secondary.

While we largely focus on his athletic ability — this is a sports blog, after all — he’s also a solid citizen, a good guy all around.

I’ve always been fairly open about the fact soccer is not high on my list of favorite sports.

I’m an idiot and I probably don’t have the ability to appreciate the intricacies of the world’s favorite sport.

But watching Derek play was genuinely exciting.

He played at a level few Coupeville athletes do, in any sport.

If I had to pay to attend games (which, thankfully, I don’t), he would have been certainly worth the price of admission.

So, thank you for the last two years, Mr. Leyva, and I wish you the best of luck in the future.

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Daylon Houston, who will be a freshman at Coupeville High School in the fall, plans to play soccer, football, and possibly basketball. (Photo courtesy Houston)

Daylon Houston doesn’t hesitate.

While he plans to play two, and possibly three, sports next year as a freshman at Coupeville High School, the lure of the pitch is something he embraces.

“Soccer is my life, soccer has always been my first choice,” Houston said. “It gives me the rush of being in nonstop play; the constant movement and aggression is awesome, and it motivates me to push myself.”

Daylon plans to join older brother Dawson, Coupeville’s starting quarterback, on the Wolf football team this fall.

After that, he may lace up his shoes with the basketball program, as well.

But when next spring rolls around, Houston is most looking forward to keeping his run as a soccer player going strong.

A veteran of four seasons of select soccer, the sport has helped him grow through elementary and middle school years.

“Being an athlete helps me stay on track; it’s a big part of me,” Houston said. “I enjoy being an athlete because when I’m out of sports I have no guidance, but in sports I have a strong sense of guidance.”

He’s looking to make an immediate impact for the Wolves on the soccer pitch, and is confident in his ever-growing skill-set.

“I have a high enough skill level to be a starting freshman on our varsity soccer team,” Houston said with conviction. “My goals are to go out on the field and push myself.”

The young booter credits the many coaches he’s worked with for helping support and guide him.

“When I was about eight, I had a soccer coach named Miguel, and he has helped me because I was going into that season saying I wanted to quit due to a bad coach from before,” Houston said. “But he guided me through a great season and put my soccer life back on track.

“Also, my current coach, Ben, who has led me and taught me the deeper concepts of the game of soccer.”

Along with his coaches, Houston praises his mom, Alia, for being the ultimate sounding board and support crew.

“She told me I should try out for select and so I did,” he said. “She helped me enter select and she was there every step of the way.

“These three people (my mom and coaches) all play a crucial role in making me the player I am today,” Houston added. “Without any of them, I probably wouldn’t be playing soccer to this day.”

When he’s not on the pitch, Houston enjoys working out, listening to music and spending time with his dog.

But, like his older brother, who will be heading into his senior season, he comes alive when playing sports.

“My strength as an athlete is that I never give up,” Houston said. “Even in the hardest of times I keep pushing myself.

“I can be in the last game of a season with absolutely no wins and go out there and give it my all,” he added. “The only thing I can think of to improve is be a part of a team and build strong chemistry with my teammates.”

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Coupeville senior Teo Keilwitz capped a four-year run on the prep soccer pitch Wednesday with a final awards banquet. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Wolf junior Aram Leyva was a First-Team All-Conference selection.

First year in a new league, and Coupeville High School boys soccer made a nice showing.

The Wolves, who finished 6-10, winning one of three playoff games even while hampered by a major wave of injuries, placed three players on the North Sound Conference All-League teams.

Junior Aram Leyva claimed First-Team honors while junior Derek Leyva and sophomore Sam Wynn were tabbed for Second-Team acclaim.

The All-Conference awards were just part of the hardware handed out Wednesday, as Coupeville’s booters capped their season with a banquet.

In team awards, Derek Leyva was selected as the Player of the Year, while Dewitt Cole (Most Inspirational), Chris Cernick (Most Improved), and Xavier Murdy (Rookie of the Year) also came to the podium.

Teo Keilwitz and Uriah Kastner were honored for being four-year players, while Keilwitz and Aram Leyva were team captains.

 

Varsity letter winners:

Andrew Aparicio
Owen Barenburg
Aiden Burdge
Chris Cernick
Dewitt Cole
Miles Davidson
Sage Downes
Dakota Eck
Tony Garcia
Alex Jimenez
Uriah Kastner
Teo Keilwitz
Michael Langille
Aram Leyva
Derek Leyva
Xavier Murdy
Jonathan Partida
James Wood
Sam Wynn

 

Certificate of participation:

Zach Ginnings
Eli Kastner
Simon Socha

 

Managers:

Natalie Hollrigel
Michael Laska

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“Peace out, man.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s a wrap.

The postseason continues to play out, but the final North Sound Conference regular-season title was decided last week, as softball came to a hotly-contested end.

When the dust had settled, and the last home run had cleared the fence, Granite Falls managed to blow what seemed like a pretty solid lead, with back-to-back losses throwing things asunder.

The Tigers ended up in a three-way tie with Coupeville and Cedar Park Christian, and, thanks to the magic of the tiebreaker, it’s your Wolves who will carry a #1 seed into the district playoffs.

That royal rumble goes down in Sedro-Woolley May 16 and 18, while back on Whidbey, CHS track hosts bi-districts the same days.

The other Wolves still fighting are Tia Wurzainer and Avalon Renninger, who finished second at the league tourney, and open bi-districts Tuesday. Win there and the duo return to the courts May 17.

While Coupeville baseball and boys soccer reached the end of their roads this past week, being bounced from bi-district and district tournaments, respectively, there is some consolation.

Mainly that South Whidbey also went down in both sports, falling shy of a state berth.

That had to particularly sting for the Falcon booters, who at 13-1, were shocked in back-to-back one-goal games by King’s and The Bush School.

But we’re not here to gloat at our closest rival’s misfortune (well, maybe a little bit…), but instead to close our weekly Sunday recaps of the league standings.

If you deeply care about the continued adventures of Cedar Park Christian baseball and King’s soccer, there are other media outlets sure to track their progress as they play at state.

With the remaining active Coupeville athletes, only softball will see its win/loss record change after this, and you can catch those developments in the coming game stories.

So, until fall sports arrive, a final look at league standings:

 

North Sound Conference softball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 9-3 12-7
CPC-Bothell 9-3 14-4
Granite Falls 9-3 12-7
South Whidbey 2-10 5-13
Sultan 1-11 1-14

 

North Sound Conference baseball:

School League Overall
CPC-Bothell 13-2 20-3
South Whidbey 12-3 18-5
King’s 10-5 12-11
Coupeville 7-8 7-14
Granite Falls 2-13 4-16
Sultan 1-14 1-19

 

North Sound Conference girls tennis:

School League Overall
King’s 7-1 8-1
South Whidbey 7-1 7-4
Granite Falls 4-4 5-10
Coupeville 2-6 2-7
Friday Harbor 0-8 0-8

 

North Sound Conference boys soccer:

School League Overall
South Whidbey 8-0 13-3
King’s 6-2 10-4-1
Coupeville 3-5 6-10
Sultan 3-5 4-11
CPC-Bothell 0-8 0-11

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