Sophia Martin and Coupeville High School girls soccer have at least one more home game, and possibly as many as three. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
By Wednesday, we’ll know what’s what.
The North Sound Conference girls soccer season wraps up that night, and all six teams still have unanswered questions.
Monday night, Coupeville fell 4-0 to South Whidbey, King’s bopped Sultan 6-1, and Granite Falls blanked Cedar Park Christian 3-0.
That leaves South Whidbey (9-0 in league, 13-0-1 overall) and King’s (8-1, 11-4) headed for a fierce finale Wednesday in Shoreline.
The Falcons could win the league title outright, or the Knights, who are the defending champs, could rally to earn a share of the 2019 crown.
The other games, which ultimately mean more to Coupeville fans, have Sultan (1-8, 1-12-2) visiting Cedar Park (4-5, 7-6) and Granite Falls (4-5, 7-7) coming to Whidbey to clash with the Wolves (1-8, 1-11-2).
It’s Senior Night for CHS, with a 6 PM varsity-only kickoff.
The game could be the final home appearance for Wolf 12th graders Avalon Renninger, Mallory Kortuem, Anna Dion, Tia Wurzrainer, and Natalie Hollrigel.
But, it doesn’t have to be.
If Coupeville and Sultan remain deadlocked through Wednesday’s games, they would be tied for the fifth, and final, playoff berth from the North Sound Conference.
The Turks would then hop on a bus Thursday, and travel to Coupeville to play a tie-breaker game.
Kickoff would be 6 PM, the game would consist of two 20-minute halves (half the normal time), and the winner would live on, while the loser would start planning the postseason banquet.
Now, if Coupeville has that #5 playoff seed, either by beating Granite Wednesday while Sultan loses to CPC, or by thumping the Turks in a tie-breaker, there would be yet another home game.
That would be Saturday, with a 1 PM kickoff.
The opponent would be the #4 seed from the Northwest Conference (likely Mount Baker), and it would also be a loser-out game, with the winner advancing on to districts.
Both the Thursday and Saturday games, if they happen, will operate under regular-season pricing, which means they’d be free.
If the Wolves are still standing after Saturday, the rest of their postseason run (with playoff pricing) would be 100% on the road, beginning with a trip Monday, Oct. 28 to the home of NSC #3.
Which could be Cedar Park or Granite.
Got that straight? Cause there will be a test.
Monday’s game was played in a rainstorm which made the South Whidbey pitch extremely slick.
Facing off with the beast of the league, the Wolves held up well, at least for a time.
“We held them scoreless until about five minutes to play in the first half,” said CHS coach Kyle Nelson. “Unfortunately they put in three in quick succession.
“The second half we did a better job of holding them out, conceding only one.”
Coupeville came close to getting on the scoreboard, with Anna Dion smacking a shot off of the goal post during one attack on the Falcon goal.
That continued a season-long trend for the Wolves, who have been inches away from doubling their 10-goal output.
“I think we just may lead the league in shots that have hit the goal post or crossbar,” Nelson said with a small smile.
JV caps season:
Coupeville’s second squad also fell 4-0 in the rain Monday, with numerous players shining through the gloom.
“Lily (Leedy) played her heart out; Katelin (McCormick) can kick a ball like no other … AMAZING,” said Wolf mom Stephanie Grimm.
“Sam (Streitler) would not let a ball in, killing it at keeper,” she added. “Aurora (Cernick) protected the keeper like no other. Brekyn (Clark) worked amazing with Lily.”
This was the first time in memory CHS has had enough players to field a JV team, which gave Nelson a chance to get much more playing time for the girls who are the future of the program.
The second team was competitive in every game, and beat Port Townsend for the highlight of the season.
“Nice to have a JV go out and play quite a few games this year,” Nelson said. “We lost last night, but the progress over the course of the season was clearly evident.”
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