Mia Littlejohn | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘Mia Littlejohn’

Bring on the champs!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged 1A Olympic League, Kalia Littlejohn, Mia Littlejohn, slow start, Soccer on October 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Mia Littlejohn hammered home her fifth goal of the season Thursday to key a 2-1 win. (John Fisken photo)

Let’s get ready to rumble.

Setting up a Saturday showdown for first place in the 1A Olympic League standings, the Coupeville High School girls’ soccer squad took care of business Thursday night.

Shrugging off a limited warm-up, the Wolves eventually took control and bounced host Chimacum 2-1 to capture their conference opener.

Now 1-0 in league play (3-4-3 overall) Coupeville will welcome defending 1A state champion Klahowya (1-0, 7-3-1) to town in two days.

The game, set for the day of the Homecoming dance, kicks off at 11 AM.

While the Eagles roared to a title last fall, the core of that team, including transcendent stars McKenzie Cook and Izzy Severns, departed, while the young Wolves are just starting to really get rolling.

Facing off with the Cowboys, Coupeville relied on their high-scoring sister combo to ice the deal.

Freshman Kalia Littlejohn nailed her team-high eighth goal, while sophomore Mia Littlejohn tallied her fifth.

Lil’ sis opened things with a bang.

“Kalia was back at it with a killer shot that left the Cowboy goalie grabbing air and seeing nothing but the bad, bad freshman trotting back to the mid-line stripe after outing her team in the hurt locker!!!,” said CHS coach Troy Cowan.

Then, it was big sister’s time, and she responded in style.

“Not to be outdone, Mia did a little corner shopping when she put in a goal from waaaaaaayyyyy out that found the corner net,” Cowan said.

No one is quite sure how Chimacum (0-1, 2-9) scored, especially Cowan.

“There is NO way that goal even went close to going in,” he said. “Can’t tell you anything about it because I never saw it happen. You will have to ask the ref…”

Still, regardless of the score, Cowan came away fairly pleased with the result.

“Girls played fairly well and did their best, but we could have done much better,” he said. “I was proud of them and was happy for this young team and that they started their conference season off with a victory!!”

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The gym rats are back!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged Basketball, fall ball, Makana Stone, Mia Littlejohn, Sherry Roberts, Skagit Parks and Rec on September 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Wolf freshman Ema Smith holds up well under pressure. (John Fisken photos)

“I said NO SCORING, FOOL!!” Kalia Littlejohn (right) clamps down on defense.

CHS hoops legend turned round-ball guru Sherry Roberts works the sidelines.

Lauren Grove wheels and deals.

Sarah Wright (right) comes flying in to impose her will.

Hoops are hoppin’ again.

The start of a new high school basketball season is still two months away, but a pack of Coupeville High School girls kicked off their fall ball season Sunday in a league run by Skagit County Parks and Rec.

And, while the Wolves dropped two close games, there were signs of progress from a squad that carries four freshmen on its eight-player roster.

Coupeville, which is coached by former Wolf hoops legends Sherry Roberts and Brittany Black, with an assist from Kacie Kiel and Aimee Bishop, fell 39-27 to Meridian and 25-23 to South Whidbey in its opening games.

Nerves cost the Wolves in their opening game, but, once settled down, the young Coupeville squad came alive with hustle plays and had a chance to beat the Falcons at the end of game two.

While wins are certainly aimed for, the focus for the team right now is growth, especially for the younger players who have yet to play a game at the high school level.

When the high school season rolls around in November, the Wolves will enter a new season as the defending 1A Olympic League champs.

However, they did lose six players from the squad that rolled to a 9-0 league mark in 2014-2015, winning every one of those games by 15+ points.

The fall ball squad includes three players from the title winners in senior (and reigning league MVP) Makana Stone, junior Kailey Kellner and sophomore Mia Littlejohn.

Wolf junior Lauren Grove and freshmen Kalia Littlejohn, Sarah Wright, Lindsey Roberts and Ema Smith round out the current squad.

P.S. — To see more photos (and possibly purchase some, thus helping to fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes) pop over to:

https://www.shutterfly.com/progal/album.jsp?aid=768a5498cf3631d715fc

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“Awesome to watch!!”

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged CHS Wolves, Kalia Littlejohn, Mckenzie Meyer, Mia Littlejohn, Sequim, Soccer on September 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Lauren Grove was on point in net Thursday, earning big praise from her coach. (Sylvia Hurlburt photos)

Kalia Littlejohn (right) netted her team-high fourth goal of the season.

Troy Cowan was a wee bit excited.

Having seen his Coupeville High School girls’ soccer team pull off a 1-1 tie Thursday at Sequim, a 2A school that boasts a student body three times the size of the one his Wolves represent, he let fire.

“Played like a bobcat in a phone booth!!!,” Cowan said. “Intense is the word of the match. The Lady Wolves owned the Sequim whomsoever’s tonight and they ought to be grateful to somebody for the 1-1 tie.

“I had to actually call 911 to have the Sequim Fire Department deploy a fire truck to the field because the Coupeville Lady Wolves were on fire!!!”

The tie left Coupeville at 1-2-2 on the season.

The Wolves are now off for a week, before hosting Orcas Island Sept. 25 in a rare Friday night tilt.

Fueling Cowan’s excitement was an especially strong Wolf defense and the one-two attack of the Littlejohn sisters.

Having matched up sophomore Mia and freshman Kalia (“the Littlejohns were just electric tonight; it was a thing of beauty”), Coupeville saw immediate payback.

Kalia Littlejohn pounded home her team’s goal midway through the second half, scoring on “a wicked left-footed shot that I know the Sequim faithful are still upset about!”

It was her team-high fourth goal of the season, as she has tallied a score in four of her team’s five games.

Setting things up was the play of her veteran sister.

“Mia was all about business tonight!,” Cowan said. “Mia was on full attack mode, taking on players, switching fields, passing to teammates, playing defense, total team game … awesome to watch!”

While Sequim managed to eke out an equalizer, the hosts couldn’t get more than that against a stingy Wolf defense.

“My defense was the cream tonight though, they rose up and said NO!!!,” Cowan said.

He praised junior goaltender Lauren Grove (“One of the most intelligent matches I have seen in a long time; she was sensational”) and her defenders.

“For the amount of experience she has, it’s just amazing what Lauren has accomplished,” Cowan said. “She is her hardest critic though; I have nothing but praise and prizes for her and she is upset???

“Relax Lauren, your stock is on the rise, please trust your coach on this one!!!”

Senior captain Jenn Spark “orchestrated another magnificent performance” in leading the defense, while youngsters Lindsey Roberts and Lauren Bayne “played GREAT!”

“I would have to say that match was easily Bayne’s best match of her life!!!,” Cowan said. “She just wasn’t having any of it tonight. I was just so proud of Lauren, she was tough, fast, defensive minded and refused to be beaten.

“I can’t leave out my most diverse player, Mckenzie Meyer!!!,” he added. “Kid can just flat out play ball. Tonight Mckenzie played the top defensive position and it was on lock down!!!

“I mean the store is CLOSED!!! Nuff said, thanks for playing, it’s over!”

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Goals, goals and more goals!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged Arisbeth Montiel, CHS Wolves, Lauren Grove, Mia Littlejohn, rout, Soccer on September 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Arisbeth Montiel, seen here in an earlier game, scored twice Saturday in an 8-0 win. (Sylvia Hurlburt photos)

Jovanah Foote has become a crowd favorite in her first year as a booter.

Lauren Grove was the loneliest girl in town.

The Coupeville High School soccer goalie got all dressed up and then spent 80 minutes cooling her heels, as she didn’t face a single shot on goal Saturday.

With the Wolves scoring early and often, they eventually had to spend the final 30 minutes of the game conducting a passing drill to keep from thrashing visiting Forks any harder than they did.

When the ref finally, mercifully signaled the end of play, allowing the visitors to head back to their bus and the pile of pizzas waiting them (Coupeville moms pulled off a surprise Pizza Factory delivery as a thank you for the Spartans making the long trip), the scoreboard read 8-0.

And it could have been much, much worse, if Wolf coach Troy Cowan hadn’t very firmly applied the brakes.

Capturing the first win of the fall season for any CHS squad, varsity or JV, the Wolf booters, now 1-1-1 on the season, controlled every aspect of the game.

Kalia Littlejohn provided her squad with the only goal it would actually need in the game’s 11th minute, cracking in a shot from the right side for her third goal of the season.

It was the third straight game she had scored, keeping her perfect during her young high school career.

Once the bubble was burst, the Wolves poured it on.

Bree Daigneault punched in a goal, taking a booming corner kick off the foot of Jenn Spark, catching it and flipping it past the stricken goalie.

It was a feeling the Spartans net-minder would feel often on the day, with the game’s third goal coming on a ball that landed in the goalie’s hands, then popped free.

Seizing the moment, Ashley Smith tapped in the ball and the rout was on.

After that, the rest of the first half was the Mia Littlejohn show.

Back after missing a game, the super sophomore scored on a bull run, assisted on a score by Arisbeth Montiel, then capped the half with a bomb from almost midfield that splashed into the back of the net.

Coupeville continued to push, for just a bit, in the second half, with Montiel notching her second score and Spark pulling off a nasty pump fake move that left two Spartans on the ground while she slid by for the game’s final goal.

After that, the Wolves noticeably pulled back, passing up numerous breakaway opportunities while working on their passing game, with Sage Renninger, Lindsey Roberts, May Rose and others essentially playing keep-away.

Crowd favorite Jovanah Foote, a Wolf cheerleader moonlighting as a booter for the first time, made several strong runs near the end and came dangerously close to notching a goal, which would have sent her ardent fans into a fit.

I’m just saying. If Foote had hit pay dirt, Dawn Hesselgrave would have come fully unglued.

And Grove?

She finally touched the ball 64 minutes into the match, when Roberts, circling on defense, tapped it back to her, mainly to check and see if her goalie was still awake.

Grove was, and she flashed a huge smile as the pro-Coupeville crowd went bonkers razzing her for her “great save.”

It was a smile worn by all the Wolves on this day, a sunny afternoon when the goals rained down from the heavens.

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“She was a lion in that box!!”

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged CHS Wolves, Jenn Spark, Lauren Grove, Mia Littlejohn, Soccer on September 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Lauren Grove, seen here last spring when she was smashing track records, had a strong soccer debut Tuesday.

One game.

That was all it took for Lauren Grove to have her one shining moment on the soccer pitch.

Having made the jump over from volleyball, the Coupeville High School junior played like a beast in goal for the Wolves on opening night Tuesday, earning kudos from her coach for the way she helped carry her squad to a 3-3 tie against host Mount Vernon Christian.

“The MVP of the game had to be Lauren Grove. She was a lion in that box!,” said CHS coach Troy Cowan. “For her first time in the box in like forever and getting limited training, she did great!

“Coming off her line and attacking strikers with reckless abandonment, diving and crawling on the ground for every ball was really inspiring!,” he added. “Two weeks ago she couldn’t drop kick the ball out of 10 yards, tonight she was clearing the ball to the 50!!!

“She was very impressive and I was very proud of her. She kept us in the match and ensured we didn’t lose!”

Kicking off a new season against a non-conference foe, the Wolves jumped out to a 3-1 lead at the half, riding goals from sophomores Mia Littlejohn and Sage Renninger and fab frosh Kalia Littlejohn.

“Girls played well for their first full match together,” Cowan said. “First half was a dominant one and where I thought we were going to coast to an easy victory.”

MVC scratched back into the game in the second half, taking advantage of a very young Coupeville defense.

“We are relying on some inexperienced, young defensive players to learn on the job,” Cowan said. “The playing experience is awesome for the new players, but it can be painful to watch.

“I just have to keep reminding myself and the few veterans remaining that it’s part of the growing pains that a young team has to go through and that the game is always the best teacher!,” he added. “We will learn from our experiences and get better.”

Along with Grove’s play in net and the rapid-fire goals, Cowan was pleased with the return of senior Jenn Spark, who missed most of last season after a devastating knee injury.

“My personal highlight of the night was to see Jennifer back on the pitch playing soccer,” Cowan said. “She had her moments and scared me a few others, but overall she played well.”

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