Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘boys soccer’

New league, new challenges for Wolf booters

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on March 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Senior defender Uriah Kastner is one of nine returning starters for the Coupeville High School boys soccer squad. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Freshman Xavier Murdy (left) leads a pack of promising newcomers.

It’s a whole new world.

When the Coupeville High School boys soccer team steps on the pitch this season, they’ll be in a new league, and powered by a new mix of players.

The jump from the Olympic League to the North Sound Conference brings a different set of rivals, including South Whidbey, which reached the state quarterfinals last season.

The Falcons upended Coupeville’s former #1 nemesis, Klahowya, in the first round of the state tourney, while new league opponent King’s fell a game short of advancing to state as well.

Toss in Sultan, Granite Falls, and Cedar Park Christian, and Coupeville’s 10-game league schedule gives the Wolves new challenges.

“It has been quite a few years since we have played any of the teams in our new league,” said CHS coach Kyle Nelson. “So it is hard to tell going in what the competition will really be like.

“My feeling is that the league will be competitive from top to bottom, with no easy wins for anybody,” he added. “I guess we will find out.”

Nelson enters his fifth season at the helm of the boys program, and his first without son William anchoring the team on the field.

A four-time First-Team All-Conference player, Will the Thrill and the rest of the Class of 2018 have left for college, jobs, and the real world.

Which doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare.

Most of the firepower is back, and still has multiple seasons to play, as the team’s leading scorers, junior cousins Derek and Aram Leyva, are still front and center.

In his first season in a Coupeville uniform, Derek torched the nets for a program-record 24 goals, while Aram tallied 13 during his sophomore campaign, running his career total to 19.

Both are chasing Aram’s older brother, Abraham, who hit the back of the net 45 times during his three-year run as a Wolf.

The Leyvas are part of a strong group of returning varsity starters, topped by seniors Dewitt Cole (goalie), Uriah Kastner (defender), and Teo Keilwitz (defender).

Juniors James Wood (midfielder) and Chris Cernick (midfielder) join the Leyvas, while sophomores Sam Wynn (defender) and Sage Downes (forward) are also back.

While it’s still early, and roles are in the process of being defined, several newcomers are expected to have an impact on this year’s squad.

Sophomore midfielder Alex Jimenez, junior defender Jonathan Partida, and junior goalie Simon Socha make the jump from JV, while sophomore defender Owen Barenburg and freshman midfielder Xavier Murdy top the newcomers.

However the lineup eventually shakes out, Nelson will have a team full of potential.

“We are returning some experience, but the core of our team will be juniors and sophomores,” he said. “So we will start the season a little young and not with experience in all parts of the field.

“On the flip side, I feel we are a well-balanced team that is bringing talent to all parts of the field, and should grow together throughout the season.”

While the goal-scoring aces are solid vets, the back part of the field is still a bit of a work in progress.

“On the defensive side, while they are bringing some experience, this is where we have the least amount,” Nelson said. “We will be looking to incorporate some new players who look to be important to our team, but it can take a while for both the defense and the new players to fully integrate.”

Coupeville opens the season with four non-league games, the first two at home (Mar. 9 vs. Chimacum and Mar. 11 vs. Mount Baker).

After that comes a stretch in which the Wolves play 10 of 11 matches against North Sound Conference foes.

As the 15-game regular season plays out, Nelson will be looking for improvement, with an eye on having his team playing at their best as the postseason nears.

“My goal is to form a well-organized, disciplined, exciting to watch squad,” he said. “I would like to finish with a winning record and a berth to the district playoffs.”

Read Full Post »

Seven days and counting

Posted in Baseball, Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Softball, Track, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 2, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“So, we meet again, my old friend!” (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The CHS varsity softball squad, ready to take aim at nabbing a second-straight league title.

Eryn Wood limbers up her tennis elbows.

If this prairie spring plays out like most of the ones before it, this is the final time the Wolf JV sluggers will see the sun.

You shoot, Wolf goalie Dewitt Cole denies you. The circle of life.

Wolf netters throw down an old-fashioned gun show.

Chelsea Prescott comes up firing.

Megan Behan gets ready to launch her javelin into the (surprisingly sunny) sky.

One week until the games count.

Next Saturday, Mar. 9, brings with it the first regular season spring sports clash for Coupeville High School.

Chimacum is the foe, boys soccer is the game, and it all goes down starting at 12:30 PM at Mickey Clark Field.

After that, softball, track and field, baseball, and girls tennis will get going, and, before you know it, spring sports will be in full swing.

In the week to come, we’ll be running preview stories for all five programs.

I can’t tell you what order those articles will run, because it all depends on which coaches answer their questions first.

So, a little suspense.

As we take bets to see which CHS spring boss is first to finish their survey, and which ones waits until the final moments, some more pics from recent practices.

Read Full Post »

CHS sports head outside, find cameraman already there

Posted in Baseball, Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Wolf senior Emma Smith visualizes capping her prep career at the state track and field championships. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

James Wood sacrifices his noggin for the good of the team.

Sarah Wright comes up firing, mere seconds from destroying the mitt about to receive her laser.

Gavin Knoblich and his bat Shaniqua (yes, that’s really her name) perfect the art of the bunt.

Lola Jimenez gets the blood flowing during tennis warm-ups.

Daniel Olson stretches out, denying the wily baseball’s bid to get past him.

Coral Caveness turns two.

Andrew Aparicio takes control of the ball during a soccer scrimmage.

Mary Milnes feels the burn.

If only one Wolf can save the world, I choose Chris Ruck. Zombies, killer androids, or renegade asteroids, all will fall to his steely gaze.

Spring has sprung, luring the paparazzi outside from their winter hideaways.

With all five Coupeville High School sports teams wending their way through the first week of practice, top-notch camera clicker John Fisken was out and about, and the pics seen above are courtesy him.

It’s a quick taste of track and field, soccer, tennis, softball, and baseball, with much more to come over the next three months.

Read Full Post »

Will, always a thrill!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , on October 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

William Nelson was a four-year star in tennis and soccer during his days at Coupeville High School. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Consistency.

That was the trademark of William Nelson, and it was a trait he displayed on the tennis court, the soccer pitch and in the classroom.

Before he graduated last spring, the long ‘n lanky one was money in the bank for Coupeville High School sports teams.

Need a big play, or maybe just a small, but very significant, one?

Nelson was the go-to guy, never prone to thumping his chest or screaming about how great he was, just the ultimate cool professional who did his job (and everyone else’s) game in, game out.

There was a moment, a very brief moment, during a super-tense match as seniors, when he and lifetime doubles mate Joey Lippo tapped tennis rackets with 2% more enthusiasm than normal after winning a tough point.

It was the equivalent of another player ripping their jersey in half, then mooning the fans while sprinting around the court, waving a flag, screaming “U-S-A, U-S-A!!!”

Most times, Nelson was content to slightly arch an eyebrow or smile a half-smile after he had decimated his foes.

He knew he had reached into their chest cavity, ripped out their heart and shown it to them, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom“-style, and they knew it, too.

So, half-smile, nod and move on to the next thing on his to-do list.

If he had only played one sport, either soccer or tennis, Nelson would likely still be receiving induction into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

But, since he played both, and excelled so thoroughly in two very different worlds, it’s a slam dunk.

So, after this, when you travel up to the top of the blog and peek under the Legends tab, you’ll find Nelson there, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Wolf greats of yore.

And there is little doubt he deserves the honor.

As the heart and soul of the CHS soccer squad, Nelson was a four-time First-Team All-Conference player as a midfielder.

He combined deft moves, smooth speed and a willingness to get down and dirty while scrapping, and could be a solid goal scorer, a superb set-up man for other Wolf gunners, or a bit of both.

More more than most players, Nelson was quick to adapt his game to fit best with the skill sets of his teammates.

As players came and went during his four-year run on the CHS pitch, he adjusted how he played to better mesh with each new star, and never seemed to care whether his name was the one in the spotlight, or theirs.

What mattered most to Nelson, or at least that’s how it always seemed from the outside, was putting his team in a position to win.

He was an ideal captain, well-respected, a leader both by action and words, and his calmness carried over to many of his running mates.

Nelson wasn’t a pushover, at all. Exactly the opposite.

Try and elbow him, or kick him, or mess with his teammates, and he subtly responded, making sure you didn’t do it twice, while rarely drawing the wrath of the officials.

His quiet toughness carried over to the tennis courts, where he and Lippo (who will likely join him in the Hall o’ Fame in short order) perfectly synced up for a four-year run as doubles partners.

Two tall players with rock-solid hitting styles, who held their emotions largely in check while picking apart foes, they came within a point of making it to state as seniors, while anchoring the Wolf lineup day after day, year after year.

Longtime Coupeville tennis coach Ken Stange described Nelson as “silky smooth” and “pretty unflappable.”

“Will and Joey played so many big matches through the years,” he said. “And they often drew a crowd when they played, which says a lot because tennis usually does not draw a crowd.”

Matinee idol, big game ace, serene superstar – they all describe Nelson.

And now you can add Hall o’ Famer to the list.

Read Full Post »

He shoots, he scores!!

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , on August 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville’s Chayse Van Velkinburgh, a 7-year-old playing for a U10 soccer squad, won a tourney title this weekend. (Photos courtesy Dustin Van Velkinburgh)

   Deception FC, and its Cow Town gunslinger (second from left, bottom row) marinate in the victory.

Like father, like son.

Coupeville hoops coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh was a soccer sensation back in his younger days, and now his son, Chayse, is coming for all the old man’s records.

The younger Van Velkinburgh, who is headed into the second grade at Coupeville Elementary this fall, is proving to be a pitch prodigy.

While he’s only seven, Chayse is already advanced enough he plays alongside booters several years older.

He and his squad, the Deception FC, stormed through the field at the Starfire Xtreme Cup in Tukwila this weekend, capturing the title in the U10 select gold division.

Van Velkinburgh started all four games on defense.

When he wasn’t locking down rival shooters, he also moved forward at times, punching home a goal and recording four assists.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »