South Whidbey goaltender Cassie Neil denies a shot Tuesday. (John Fisken photo)
When Coupeville and South Whidbey play, in any sport, it is personal.
The Wolves and the Falcons are separated by only a few miles, living together on an Island, and since both are 1A, while Oak Harbor is 3A and rarely plays either of its neighbors, this is THE rivalry.
Games get chippy at times. Fans get personal at times. A win can make or break a school year, depending on what town you call home.
Coupeville bouncing from the 1A/2A Cascade Conference to the 1A Olympic League this year has taken the schools in different directions, but keeping the rivalry going, even in non-conference games, was the best decision the school AD’s could have made.
With wins in football and girls’ soccer, and a loss in volleyball, the Wolves have an early 2-1 edge in 2014.
But, the first big winner is a Falcon, junior soccer goalie Cassie Neil.
She, along with Wolves Mia Littlejohn and Marisa Etzell, reminded us Tuesday that you can have hard-core rivalries while still respecting your foes.
Neil is a bubbly force of nature and a frequent visitor to Cow Town.
In the world of select soccer, where Wolves, Falcons and Oak Harbor Wildcats often play on the same teams, she has frequently worn the same uniform as many of the girls she faced Tuesday.
In the second half of a narrow game, Neil twice got taken out hard. Both times were accidental in nature, but that didn’t keep the Falcon net-minder from being laid out.
The first time came on a breakaway when Littlejohn, who scored two goals, lit Neil up when they inadvertently collided at full-speed out in front of the net.
The second came with Neil on the ground, trying to grab a ball and getting clocked in the face by Etzell’s foot.
What was touching was the concern of all three girls for each other.
Instead of hanging back and letting the injured player’s teammates deal with the situation, as you might normally do, in both instances the Wolves immediately went to check on Neil.
And, after the worst of the two collisions, when she regained her feet, still a little wobbly, Neil went and grabbed Littlejohn in a bear-hug, one friend making sure the other knew that she held no ill will.
It was a quick moment, but it spoke volumes.
It reminded all of us what grace under pressure, class and hard-nosed mutual respect should look like on the athletic field.
Well played, ladies. Well played.
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