Wolf seniors (l to r) Grant Steller, Aidan Wilson, Cameron Epp, and Reiley Araceley are not done just yet. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Now, it gets complicated.
Like maybe really, really, really complicated.
What we do know for sure is the Coupeville High School boys soccer team played a very strong first 30 minutes Thursday on Orcas Island, pushing the defending state champs to the brink.
Unfortunately for the Wolves, pitch contests are 80 minutes, and the last 50 belonged to the host Vikings, who turned a 1-0 deficit into an 8-1 win.
The loss, coming in its regular-season finale, drops Coupeville to 3-5 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-8 overall.
And that’s where it gets complicated.
Of the nine schools to play boys soccer in the NWL, five advance to the playoffs.
Orcas (7-0 in league) faces La Conner (2-5) Friday, then heads to the postseason.
Friday Harbor (7-1), Mount Vernon Christian (6-2) and Grace Academy (4-4) are also playoff-bound.
Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood (0-8) is eliminated, and La Conner will be as well unless they spring the upset of the year against Orcas.
If that should somehow happen (it won’t), we’d have a four-way tie for the fifth, and final, playoff berth, with the Braves joining Coupeville, Lopez Island, and Providence Classical Christian at 3-5.
But, even if La Conner gets routed (it will), that’s still a three-way tie, which means we need something more than a straight tiebreaker game to decide the last postseason slot.
What will it be?
Personally, I vote for a team eggnog chugging contest, on a moving ferry, in the style of a penalty kick shootout.
Player barfs, team out. Last team standing with spotless uniforms “wins.”
Some call me a genius. Others use different words…
Meanwhile, back in reality, the #5 spot will be decided, in some manner, likely Saturday, Oct. 29, with the winner advancing to host the #4 team from District 2 in a loser-out playoff game Monday, Oct. 31.
The winner of the Halloween night game advances to face Mount Vernon Christian in a loser-out, winner-to-state game either Nov. 1 or 2.
Details of the tiebreaker should be revealed after the Orcas vs. La Conner game, when everyone knows if it’s a three-team or four-team affair. Stay tuned.
Coupeville had a shot to deny the logjam at #5, as a win on Orcas Thursday would have left the Wolves in a fourth-place tie with Grace Academy at 4-4.
That still would have necessitated a tiebreaker, as the NWL #4 team automatically gets a loser-out, winner-to-state game, but it would have been a straight up two-team affair.
Enduring a fair amount of wind, the Wolves held Orcas scoreless for almost 30 minutes, taking the lead when Aidan Wilson banged home his ninth goal of the season off of a deflection.
That gives the Wolf senior 12 tallies for his high school career, breaking a tie with Zane Bundy and leaving Wilson as the sixth-best goal scorer in CHS boys soccer history.
Orcas eventually broke through, however, netting the tying goal on a penalty kick and the go-ahead score in stoppage time right before the halftime break.
A tense 2-1 affair fell apart in the second half, with the Vikings raining down six goals and showing why they are a strong favorite to win back-to-back state 2B/1B titles.
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