Mia Littlejohn cranked home four goals Tuesday, propelling Coupeville to an 8-0 win and sole possession of first-place in the 1A Olympic League. (John Fisken photo)
“When you have a combination of red hot Wolves and a bunch of young Cowboys you are gonna get some thunder and lightning!!!”
By the time the goals were done raining down Tuesday, all Coupeville High School girls’ soccer coach Troy Cowan could do was smile.
And sing his team’s praises.
Powered by Mia Littlejohn, who netted a hat trick then went one better, the Wolves obliterated visiting Chimacum 8-0 to claim sole possession of first-place in the 1A Olympic League.
While there’s still a long ways to go for Coupeville to upend two-time defending league champ Klahowya, for this day, at least, the Wolves (1-0-1 overall, 1-0 in league play) are top dogs.
Three of Mia Littlejohn’s four goals came in the first half, all unassisted.
She added a final score off a “stunning header” in the second half, set up by a “ferocious crossing pass” from senior captain Bree Daigneault.
With five goals in the first two games of the season, Mia Littlejohn is already halfway to little sister Kalia’s school single-season scoring record.
“Mia was a one-woman wrecking crew, she was totally unstoppable and in the zone,” Cowan said. “She had to be butter tonight because she was on a roll.”
Kalia Littlejohn doesn’t intend to let the scoring title slip away easily, popping her first two scores of the year into the back of the net.
“Kalia struggled mightily with her shot early in the match, but I kept telling her shooters shoot, so keep on ripping them in,” Cowan said. “Her perseverance finally paid off late in the match.”
Daigneault and freshman Avalon Renninger rounded out the scoring attack, each tallying their first goal of the season.
“Bree played a career match; she was fantastic tonight, really her most complete match,” Cowan said. “Her biggest contributions came from her tenacity and on the field leadership!
“She just refused to be rattled and kept her team on point and focused; very proud of this amazing young woman.”
Avalon Renninger’s first high school goal, fittingly, was set up by older sister Sage.
“Avalon is just such an unselfish player and wants to share too much sometimes,” Cowan said. “I told her tonight before the match started she would score her first career goal if she listened and followed my directions.
“She has so much potential because she has been prepared for this moment and having a left foot like a sledge hammer helps too,” he added. “Avalon and Sage work so well together and you can actually see the chemistry on the pitch.
“It’s really a thing of beauty when they are working in tandem, almost like synchronized swimmers!!!”
Coupeville dominated the game so completely senior goalie Lauren Grove failed to touch the ball in play once.
That led Cowan to gush over his defenders, who were clicking on all cylinders.
From Lindsey Roberts (“Her drive, commitment and just overall sense of responsibility to her team, school and community are off the charts”) to Lauren Bayne (“She is such an unbelievable athlete that can do so many different things on the field it’s scary”) to his freshman starters, praise was offered all.
“Tia (Wurzrainer) and Mallory (Kortuem) are really the Wonder Twins from the super heroes,” Cowan said. “These two are peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese or whatever combination you like.
“They just complement each other so well, the fact they are freshman is what is really exciting,” he added. “The ceiling with these two is epic, I mean cathedral level.”
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