Frankie Tenore brings the heat. (Julie Wheat photos)
The walk through the wilderness has paid off.
After two years of joining with their male counterparts to form a co-ed team, Coupeville High School’s female booters are once again the masters of their own domain.
Playing as a complete girls’ soccer team for the first time in 1,050 days, the Wolves, led by new coach Jasmine Ader, opened the 20th season in program history Monday, hosting East Jefferson.
And while the young Wolves ultimately fell 6-4 to their non-conference foes, it was a big step forward.
After several years of playing with Oak Harbor as a co-op team, CHS launched its own girls’ soccer program in 2004.
The Wolves survived the pandemic, but a lack of players prevented them from fielding a full roster in 2023 and 2024. During that time, several girls were on the CHS boys team.
That included this year’s captain, Frankie Tenore, who is the only senior on the current 14-woman roster, and young stars Lillian Ketterling and Tamsin Ward.
The trio headline a squad which has tons of potential, with more than half the roster being only 8th graders.
“A dream for any coach,” Ader said. “List a few good sports dynasties and soon we will be one.”
One of those 8th graders, Lyla Grose, got the Wolves on the board, delivering a first-half score while sunny skies graced the prairie.
“Grose has been practicing her strike over the last few months,” Ader said. “Her confidence is growing. I can’t wait to see more goals from her.”
East Jefferson, which is a mashup of Port Townsend and Chimacum players, came in with a veteran team and it showed as the Rivals carried a 6-1 lead into halftime.
Showing pluck and a fiery nature, the young Wolves never backed down, however, scoring three second-half goals to get back in the game.
Ward, a freshman who played on the co-ed varsity as an 8th grader, accounted for the full hat trick, while her teammates rallied behind her offensive firepower.
“At halftime I needed the Wolves to only think about our positives,” Ader said. “We had at least double the shots, held the ball on the opposing side, and had possession control most of the half.
“We had so many great runs on and off the ball — at the end the opposing goalkeeper was exhausted.”
Lillian Ketterling, a terror on the pitch.
Ketterling and Tenore anchored the Wolf defense, while Ader also praised the effort of new-to-the-team players such as Ellie Marshall, Bettie Woolworth, and Hailey and Hazel Goldman.
As the Wolves build back, they are setting themselves up for future success by bringing in players from every grade.
That includes getting elementary and middle school girls to support the current team, while planning to one day wear the red and black themselves.
“For the future Wolves, we hope you girls come and watch us play,” Ader said. “We have built a foundation for girls in Coupeville to play soccer for many years to come. We are excited for our program’s future.”
And there will be plenty of opportunities to catch a game in person, with the Wolves playing seven of their first eight at home this season.
Up next is a clash with Lopez Island Wednesday, with kickoff set for 4:00 PM.
On to the next game!
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