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Posts Tagged ‘GU19 Whidbey Islanders’

More wins, less hair!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , , on March 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

After a shave and haircut, soccer coach Sean LeVine was discovered hiding underneath.

After a shave and haircut, soccer coach Sean LeVine emerges a new man.

Sean LeVine’s family thanks you all. Their great national tragedy is over.

With his GU19 Whidbey Islanders soccer squad pulling off a 1-0 victory over the Northshore Evolution Saturday, LeVine finally went in for a shave and haircut, emerging as the silky-smooth coach his wife and three daughters sorta, kinda remembered from the past.

LeVine had vowed to let the locks and grizzle grow until the Islanders broke a recent losing streak, and reports of Sasquatch being seen on Whidbey had followed him during his day job as a paramedic.

No longer, and Lydia Peplinski gets the assist.

Well, actually, it was Gillian Crossley who got the assist, setting Peplinski up for the game’s lone score, but you get the point.

Crossley nabbed the ball early in the second half, snatching the ball out of the air then redirecting it to Peplinski, who banged home the goal from 18 yards out.

Her shot exploded like a firecracker, hitting the turf and taking a wicked curve that caused the Northshore goaltender to bobble it, then watch in silent horror as the loose ball skipped merrily into the back of the net.

The Evolution fought hard to try and get a tying goal, but Whidbey’s defense held strong. Despite playing with just one sub, the superbly-conditioned Islanders held up under fire.

“It was quite a battle and our players had to weather an early onslaught, but they held firm and kept them from having any meaningful shots on goal,” LeVine said. “Our stellar conditioning really won this game today.”

Whidbey came dangerously close to blowing the game wide open, with Crossley, Peplinski and Vivien Valles raining down shots from all sides.

Valles notched her second consecutive Player of the Game honors, showcasing hustle from opening whistle to closing whistle.

“That girl is just going 100%, doing what we ask of her, and the extra effort saved a goal for us today when a player broke through our back line and was caught by the speedy Valles, saving our keeper from having a one-on-one,” LeVine said. “She was also in on several opportunities on the offensive side of the pitch.

“I’m really proud of how well she is contributing right now.”

The Islanders will kick off one of its busiest months with a match Saturday, Mar. 7 (3:45 kickoff) at Wildcat Stadium in Oak Harbor.

Whidbey closes out the regular season and starts state cup tournament play at the end of the month.

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The facial hair stays (for now)!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , on February 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Gillian Crossley scored a pair of goals Sunday.

Gillian Crossley scored a pair of goals Sunday.

sean

Sean LeVine’s beard hits dangerous levels of growth in this surveillance photo.

Whidbey Islanders GU19 select soccer coach Sean LeVine has vowed not to shave or get a haircut until his team breaks its current losing streak.

To his wife Joline’s great disappointment, that day did not come Sunday.

“Now my wife is considering moving my bed to the couch. It doesn’t look good,” LeVine said with a laugh after the Islanders fell 5-2 at home in a game that was far more competitive than the score might sound.

Gillian Crossley tried to get the clippers fired up with an early goal, taking a “great through pass” from Hailey Erbe and banging the ball into the side of the net.

Unfortunately for those praying for a shaving, things got rougher from there, with the Islanders surrendering back-to-back goals on corner kicks.

“The sad part is that we’ve been scored on five times this season on corner kicks and we’ve put a lot of time in at practice on trying to correct this already,” LeVine said.

Three more unanswered goals dug a huge hole for the Islanders, though LeVine felt the Islanders played the second half “definitely looking like the more dangerous team.”

Crossley did her part, knocking in her second goal of the game on a “perfectly-placed shot” off of a chip from Vivien Valles, who was named the team’s Player of the Game for her “assist, several beautiful runs and her tenacity.”

The Islanders charged the net hard in the second half and created a number of chances, but couldn’t get another score before time ran out on them.

Even in a loss, one huge positive for Whidbey was the return to action of big-time players Paige Waterman and Jacalyn Hefflefinger.

Sidelined by injuries so far this season, Sunday’s action was their season debut.

“Paige put in some quality time in her traditional role at right defender,” LeVine said. “Jacalyn displayed her old ways at striker for us today and had two great chances on goal, one of which was a half volley off a cross that she nailed, but it went straight to the keeper.”

Playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd (“We had a great fan base today and it was really great for the girls to have so much support”), the Islanders put in a ferocious effort, team-wide.

“This game was so good that despite the three-goal lead, everyone there would tell you that they expected us to catch up at any moment,” LeVine said. “Our conditioning is really good right now and we looked really good offensively today, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way.”

The Islanders return to action with a game at Bothell Saturday, Feb. 28.

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Stylish, even in a loss!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , , on February 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Kendra Warwick

Kendra Warwick scored a beauty of a goal Saturday.

They won the style battle. Just not the game.

Despite scoring much more impressive goals, the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad couldn’t quite tally enough of them Saturday, eventually falling 3-2 to the visiting Bellevue Ravens.

When they did beat the Bellevue goaltender, the Islanders did it with panache.

On their first score, Micky LeVine, under a great deal of pressure, fed the ball flawlessly to Kendra Warwick, who was lurking in the middle of the field.

Blasting the ball like a laser, Warwick buried it into the side netting before the Raven goalie had a chance to blink.

Trailing 3-1, the Islanders pulled closer with another beautiful goal.

This time Lydia Peplinksi, pushing up the field from her right defender position, found a streaking Kenzie Perry, who flicked the ball out of the air and past a scrambling net-minder.

“They had one nice goal, but if we got style points for our goals, then we would have won for sure,” said Islander coach Sean LeVine.

While they played from behind most of the day, the Islanders were competitive and had moments of brilliance.

“This was a hard fought game and we almost pulled off the comeback,” LeVine said. “While this wasn’t our best game, our team played hard for a full 90 and I was convinced we were the better team.

“But, we made a few too many errors on both sides of the ball and they were able to capitalize on our defensive errors and we did not capitalize on theirs enough.”

When Whidbey returns to action in two weeks (it has a home game at Ft. Nugent Park on Sunday, Feb. 22), it will finally have a deeper roster.

After playing much of the early season with only 11 girls (sometimes less), the Islanders will welcome back two of their best players, Jacalyn Hefflefinger and Paige Waterman.

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“Our best game of the season!!”

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , on January 31, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Erin Rosenkranz (John Fisken photo)

Erin Rosenkranz (John Fisken photo)

Not every team needs subs.

As his squad progresses further into the season and continues to play nearly all of its games with a minimum 11 players (or less), GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer coach Sean LeVine has learned to go with the flow.

“Missing key players is our new norm and we’ve finally started playing like it,” he said. “As far as experience goes, this season is giving us that.

“Unfortunately it is a steep learning curve and our improvement has come at the expense of our season’s record,” LeVine added. “However, I expect things will get much better!”

His positive outlook remained in place even after the Islanders lost a 1-0 nail-biter on the road Saturday to Kent United.

“This was our best game of the season and I am very proud of our play,” LeVine said. “With a full squad we’d have taken it, I think.”

Whidbey lost goal-scoring threat Lydia Peplinski at the last second due to an ankle injury suffered in basketball, and that left the Islanders with an empty bench.

11 players were on hand and 11 players took the field and never came off.

And, other than a late goal on a bit of a fluke play where Kent poached a throw-in, the Islanders played their much deeper rivals (five bodies on the bench) straight up.

“This was definitely the best team we’ve faced this season,” LeVine said. “They looked like the better team for most of the first half, but we improved as the game went on.”

He praised the play of Erin Rosenkranz and Bailee Olson, who both lined up at positions other than the ones they normally call home.

“I made a tactical change and put Erin at right back and moved Bailee to center mid and it really paid off!,” LeVine said. “Erin was an excellent defender today. Her patience and tackling ability really shined!

“Bailee’s speed and aggression really upped our tempo and put pressure on them.”

Whidbey had two superb chances at breaking into the scoring column, but narrowly missed on both.

On the first one Gillian Crossley went just wide of the net while being laid out “linebacker style” by Kent’s six-foot-two goaltender.

Later Kendra Warwick and Micky LeVine put together a give-and-go down the sideline, with LeVine setting up Hailey Erbe for the shot on goal.

Once again, however, it slid just wide of the target.

Still, Sean LeVine was happy with the way his squad refused to go down easily.

“We looked like the better team second half, and despite having no subs and them having five subs, I think it was, in large part, due to our superior conditioning and experience playing in these situations.”

The Islanders return to Whidbey for their next match, hosting a Crossfire team Saturday, Feb. 7. Kickoff is 3 PM at Ft. Nugent.

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No rest! Ever!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , , on January 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Micky LeVine scored one of Whidbey's two goals Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Micky LeVine scored one of Whidbey’s two goals Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Racked by injuries and game-day absences, the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad is getting used to playing games with no subs this season.

Field enough players to go (or sometimes, play a man or two down) and they’ll go the full 90 minutes and push you hard. But, it wouldn’t hurt to have a full roster.

“This season has been really tough so far,” said Islanders coach Sean LeVine. “But I believe we have the talent to succeed despite that and we have been in every game.”

Saturday was a case in point, as Whidbey played host Newport FC almost evenly before fatigue and a few bad breaks sent it to a tough 4-2 loss.

Even in defeat, the Islanders had moments of brilliance, with both of their goals being highlight-reel material.

The first one came off the toe of Hailey Erbe, who took a beautifully-slotted through pass from teammate Gillian Crossley and beat the Newport goaltender.

“Their defense incorrectly tried an offsides trap leaving her one-on-one with their keeper,” LeVine said. “Hailey expertly shot the ball into the side netting, freezing their keeper.”

The Islanders struck again when they pulled out their secret weapon — the cannon-like arm of Alyssa Cross.

Airmailing a throw-in, Cross dropped it right in front of the goal, allowing the ever-sneaky Micky LeVine to slide in and punch the ball into the back of the net mere seconds before being bowled over by an uppity Newport defender.

“Alyssa can really throw a ball and it always takes the other team by surprise,” Sean LeVine said with a touch of pride in his voice.

Newport broke the game open with a couple of goals off of plays where the Islanders had no chance to get to the ball, but overall the Islanders stood up well against a constant onslaught.

Whidbey goalie Kenzie Perry recorded an eye-popping 14 saves, while LeVine gave big props to Cross, Lydia Peplinski and Vivien Valles for their hustle and willingness to fight through their fatigue.

The Islanders return to action next Saturday, Jan. 31, when they travel to Renton to play Kent United. Hopefully with a full roster.

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