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Posts Tagged ‘Lydia Peplinski’

A tie that felt like a win!!

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

Micky LeVine set up her team's goal Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Micky LeVine set up her team’s goal Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Sometimes you can win without winning.

The scoreboard at Oak Harbor’s Wildcat Stadium Saturday said the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad tied 1-1 with visiting Seattle United Black.

Toss the score out, however, and the Islanders dominated the day.

“Great game today, we finished with 10 shots on goal, including three one-on-ones, to their five shots on goal,” said Whidbey coach Sean LeVine. “I’m happy with our performance, despite the tie.”

The Islanders controlled the flow of the game in the first half, only to have Seattle United make a bit of a comeback after the break.

Whidbey opened the scoring, when Micky LeVine slipped between a pair of Seattle defenders and sent a textbook pass to Lydia Peplinski in front of the goal.

The goalie made an initial save, but Peplinski nabbed the loose ball and sent the rebound into the back of the net.

Seattle United got the tying goal early in the second half, when it managed to slip a shot just outside of the grasp of Whidbey goaltender Kenzie Perry.

“Other than that moment, our defense had a very good day!,” Sean LeVine said.

He tabbed Kendra Warwick as the Player of the Game for her rampaging performance.

“She just turned it up a notch in the second half, dominating the middle of the field, and having a few shots on goal.”

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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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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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Young guns step up for depleted Islanders!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , , on January 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Lydia Peplinski

Lydia Peplinski

Technically, they won.

Despite playing without several key players, including all of their regular goalies, the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad was responsible for two of the three goals scored in its game Saturday.

Unfortunately, one of those scores was the dreaded own goal, as a miscue resulted in a ball being dumped into the Islander net by a Whidbey player.

Unable to overcome that misfortune, the Islanders eventually fell 2-1 to a visiting Crossfire team.

Even in the loss there were bright moments, however.

Lydia Peplinski, who narrowly missed on her own one-on-one chance, set up teammate Gillian Crossley on the Islanders’ lone goal into the other team’s net.

Taking a pass from Bailee Olson, Peplinski dumped it off to a streaking Crossley, who slammed home the score into the side netting with one swing of her super-charged left foot.

That tied the game up, but was also the final burst of offense from the Islanders.

Trying to hold on to the tie until the bitter end, Whidbey surrendered the eventual game winner on a corner kick.

With a chunk of his roster missing, Islander coach Sean LeVine dipped down and plucked three players from the local GU16 squad. He came away impressed with the trio.

“Jenna Cooley, the only freshman, did very well for us again and created several offensive chances,” LeVine said. “Emily Brown, and her golden left foot, helped out our very depleted back line today as a left back. Her patience and solid defending helped us keep the game close.

“Ebony “The Fearless” Campbell, who played goal keeper for us, really did well,” he added. “Her shot stopping, bravery, and timing in coming out of the goal really saved us many times. Without her today the game could have really gotten ugly. She really kept us in this game.”

The Islanders have a bye next weekend, returning to play Jan. 24 with a game in Bellevue against Newport FC.

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