Sophomore Sage Downes has tallied four goals this spring for the CHS soccer team. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Team captain Aram Leyva will lead his squad into its first true home playoff game in many years Monday night.
No need to drive very far this time.
In recent years, when Coupeville High School soccer squads earned home playoff games, they still had to trek 10 miles to Oak Harbor’s stadium, then adjust on the fly to a different playing surface.
But now that the Wolves are back in District 1, the requirement for early-round postseason battles to be played on turf no longer exists.
That means when CHS opens its playoff run Monday, Apr. 29, it will start on the green, green grass of its own Mickey Clark Field.
The opponent is win-less Cedar Park Christian, kickoff is 6 PM, it’s a loser-out game, and yes, you have to pay admission, unlike the regular season.
A breakdown of what you need to know as the district tourney kicks off:
What:
1A District 1 boys soccer tournament, featuring the top five North Sound Conference teams against the top three Northwest Conference squads.
When:
Apr. 29-May. 4
Where:
Multiple locations.
Coupeville opens at home, but a win there sends the Wolves on the road for games at still-to-be-determined locations May 1 and 4.
What’s at stake:
Five of eight teams at districts advance to bi-districts, which pits District 1 against District 2.
Three of nine teams at that tourney punch their ticket to state.
Admission for individual district playoff games:
Adults and students without ASB — $7.00
Students with ASB, children and seniors — $5.00
Preschool children (with paying adult) – Free
Team capsules:
Coupeville:
Season record: 5-8
League finish: #3 in 1A North Sound Conference
Goal differential: 31-43
Seniors: (3) – Dewitt Cole, Uriah Kastner, Teo Keilwitz
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 3-7 (beat Cedar Park twice; split with Sultan; lost twice to both King’s and South Whidbey; lost once to Meridian and Mount Baker)
Coach: Kyle Nelson
Mascot: Wolves
Cedar Park Christian:
Season record: 0-10
League finish: #5 in 1A North Sound Conference
Goal differential: 6-51
Seniors: (2) – Joel Koszonus, Ray Xiang
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 0-8 (lost twice to Coupeville, South Whidbey, King’s, and Sultan)
Coach: Ken Kerr
Mascot: Eagles
King’s:
Season record: 7-3-1 (*NSC web site credits them with an 8th win, but sorry, you don’t get to count a win against your own alumni…)
League finish: #2 in 1A North Sound Conference
Goal differential: 36-8
Seniors: (2) – Gunnar Morehead, Jeffrey Weber
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 6-2 (beat Sultan, Coupeville and CPC twice, lost twice to South Whidbey)
Coach: Matt Sporn
Mascot: Knights
Lynden Christian:
Season record: 6-8-2
League finish: #2 of 1A teams in 1A/2A/3A Northwest Conference
Goal differential: 21-31
Seniors: (6) – Jalen Apol, Blake De Ruyter, Cory Ellens, Trent Greenough, Jakob Luce, Nolan Thomas
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 1-1 (beat Meridian, lost to Mount Baker)
Coach:Brent De Ruyter
Mascot: Lyncs
Meridian:
Season record: 9-5-2
League finish: #1 of 1A teams in 1A/2A/3A Northwest Conference
Goal differential: 46-25
Seniors: (9) – Tanner Bouwman, Manraj Gaday, Savikar Gaday, Gabe Hughes, Ernan Martinez, Nathan Miranda, Carlos Padila-Solis, Chris Prado, Nicholas Vyvyan
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 3-1 (beat Mount Baker, Coupeville, and Sultan, lost to Lynden Christian)
Coach: Joe Spencer
Mascot: Trojans
Mount Baker:
Season record: 8-6-1
League finish: #3 of 1A teams in 1A/2A/3A Northwest Conference
Goal differential: 40-34
Seniors: (8) – Gage Corcoran, Freddy Delgado, Ian Green, JJ Kalsbeek, Kailani Lauderdale, Clover Martin, Trey O’Dell, James Rice
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 2-1 (beat Lynden Christian and Coupeville, lost to Meridian)
Coach: Jason Jorgensen
Mascot: Mountaineers
South Whidbey:
Season record: 12-1
League finish: #1 in 1A North Sound Conference
Goal differential: 74-8
Seniors: (6) – Graham Colar, Nevin Daniels, Julian Inches, Michael Lux, Eli Waldron, Cormac Workman
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 8-0 (beat King’s Sultan, Coupeville, and CPC twice)
Coach: Emerson Robbins
Mascot: Falcons
Sultan:
Season record: 4-10
League finish: #4 in 1A North Sound Conference
Goal differential: 24-62
Seniors: (4) – Francisco Alvarado-Medina, Blake Bernethy, Gabriel DeBock, Miguel Garcia
Record vs. district tourney qualifiers: 3-6 (beat CPC twice, split with Coupeville, lost twice to King’s and South Whidbey, lost once to Meridian)
Coach: Ryan Schaeffer
Mascot: Turks
Bracket:
http://www.nscathletics.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=2915&sport=9
Coupeville Sports 