Rain and mud on Lopez Island left Coupeville soccer players a mess. (Robert Wood photo)
It was a brawl in a mud pit.
Playing on a rainy autumn afternoon Friday, the Coupeville High School boys soccer squad had two opponents.
One was the host team, Lopez Island, which slipped away with a 5-3 win over the Wolves.
The other was the muck and mire, which made doing anything complicated, like scoring goals, three times as hard.
“You should see the uniforms!,” said Coupeville coach Robert Wood. “Everyone is soaked and muddy head to toe.”
The loss, the third-straight for the Wolves, drops them to 3-7 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, while Lopez improves to 3-8.
The Wolves are tied with Grace Academy (3-7) for sixth-place in the nine-team conference, a half-game up on Lopez and two ahead of cellar dweller Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood (0-8).
Orcas Island and Providence Classical Christian, both 8-1, sit atop the NWL, with Friday Harbor (7-3), Mount Vernon Christian (7-3), and La Conner (5-6) rounding out the standings.
Friday’s game, which kicked off at the very-early hour of 2:15 PM, featured ties at 1-1 and 2-2, before Lopez pulled ahead for good at 4-2.
Coupeville got things back down to 4-3, only to see the Lobos pad their lead near the end to set the final score.
Coupeville’s goals came from Miguel Puente, Nick Guay, and Xavier Murdy.
Xavier Murdy, making the magic happen. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Puente delivered first, cracking the seal on the net off on an unassisted run down the side, nabbing the third goal of his foreign exchange student season.
Next up was Guay, who converted off of a cross from Cael Wilson, rattling the net for his fourth score of the season, and fifth of his CHS career.
Then it was time for X marks the spot, with Murdy netting his third goal of the season off of a header.
The tally was set up by a nice corner kick from Andrew Williams, with X–Man beating the Lopez netminder as he punched home the sixth goal of his high school run.
Coupeville, which has five games left on the schedule, plays its final two home games next week.
Friday Harbor, which just handed Orcas Island its first loss, visits Whidbey Tuesday, Oct. 19, then Lopez comes to town Saturday, Oct. 23.
The latter of the two games will be Senior Night for CHS, with Murdy, Tony Garcia, and Puente honored.
Coupeville Sports 