Coupeville’s Alex Murdy is pursued by a pair of Orcas Island players during an early-season game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Our league is #1.
Coupeville’s second season of playing boys soccer in the Northwest 2B/1B League ended with a conference rival winning the state title.
Orcas Island topped Providence Classical Christian 2-1 Saturday night in Sumner, with the game decided in a 4-3 shootout.
The victory, coming in an all-NWL final, gives the Viking booters the first team state title in program history, and the second in school history.
Orcas previously won a girls soccer state title in 2009.
This version of Vikings soccer finished 18-2, beating PCC three times in four meetings.
The two teams split games during the regular season, before Orcas came out on top 1-0 in the district tourney title game.
Saturday’s finale was knotted 1-1 at the end of regulation, then went through scoreless overtime to end in that most-beloved, or most-loathed, of events — “kicks from the mark.”
Orcas goalie Paxton White came up huge, deflecting a PCC ball away from his net on the first shot, before watching a second try go wide left.
The Vikings nailed their first three kicks, with Tommy Anderson-Cleveland, William Ibarra, and Diego Lago finding the back of the net, and seemed to be running away with things, up 3-1.
But there was some drama left, as PCC rallied to net back-to-back kicks, while blocking an Orcas try, pushing things to 3-3 headed into the 10th, and potentially final, attempt.
The ball was on Pedro Guerra’s foot, and the Orcas junior was golden, flicking the title-winning shot past a flailing PCC netminder.
That capped the fifth trip to state for the Vikings booters, whose best previous finish was 2nd place in 2018.
The NWL, which has nine teams for boys soccer — picking up outsiders PCC, Grace Academy, Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood, and Lopez Island — claimed three of four team awards at the 2B/1B state tourney.
Friday Harbor earned 4th place, falling 2-0 to Crosspoint Academy Saturday afternoon.
Overall, NWL schools brought home two team state titles this fall, with La Conner volleyball also winning a third-straight 2B crown.
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