Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Sage Arends’

Booters notch All-Conference votes

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on November 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Sage Arends rolls into action. (Julie Wheat photos)

It’s the premier pitch conference in Washington.

The Northwest 2B/1B League has produced four of the last five 2B/1B boys’ soccer state champs and taken 13 of 20 tourney trophies in that time.

So, when it comes time for coaches to pick their best players, it’s ultra-competitive.

This time around was no different, with Orcas Island — which has played in five straight state title games, winning three — having the league MVP in senior Joaquin Shanks Morales.

The Vikings also collected the Team Sportsmanship trophy, while Mount Vernon Christian leader Jeremiah Wohlgemuth was tapped as Coach of the Year.

Coupeville, which was in playoff contention until the final day of the season, landed two players on the Honorable Mention list, with juniors Sage Arends and Sam Richards earning props for their play.

Arends punched in seven goals for the Wolves, while Richards stood tall as a goalkeeper, fending off some of the most-potent offenses in the game.

Sam Richards gets his props.

 

First-Team:

Emilio Bayas – Senior – Friday Harbor
Isidro Churape – Junior – Friday Harbor
Anthony Conejo – Senior – Orcas Island
Junior Conejo Medina – Sophomore – Orcas Island
Zane Dahlberg – Junior – Mount Vernon Christian
Abdul Guzman – Junior – Friday Harbor
Timoteo Malo – Junior – Orcas Island
Andres Meissner – Senior – Lopez Island
Kaleb Otis – Junior – La Conner
Sean Russell – Senior – Mount Vernon Christian
Ryker Stewart – Senior – Grace Academy

 

Second-Team:

Ben Letsche – Junior – Providence Classical Christian
Mickael Mbuyu – Senior – Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood
Connor Mounts – Sophomore – Mount Vernon Christian
Logan Mounts – Senior – Mount Vernon Christian
Elias Poole – Junior – Providence Classical Christian
Lauro Quintero Carrion – Senior – Orcas Island
Oliver Rick – Senior – Lopez Island
Angelo Vaccarella – Senior – Orcas Island
Sam Vaccarella – Sophomore – Orcas Island
Walker Wohlgemuth – Freshman – Mount Vernon Christian
Grady Woodmansee – Sophomore – Mount Vernon Christian

 

Honorable Mention:

Jayce Anderson – Senior – Grace Academy
Eric Apopei – Junior – Providence Classical Christian
Sage Arends – Junior – Coupeville
Forrest Goodremont – Junior – Friday Harbor
Huck Henderson – Sophomore – Lopez Island
Kaden Horn – Sophomore – Friday Harbor
Paul Kloss – Sophomore – Providence Classical Christian
Riley Miller – Junior – Friday Harbor
Kale Navarette-Higgins – Junior – La Conner
Lydia Negash – Junior – Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood
Sam Richards – Junior – Coupeville
Lane Tenborg – Senior – Mount Vernon Christian
Nolan Wohlgemuth – Junior – Mount Vernon Christian

Read Full Post »

Booters finish season with a bang

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on October 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

CHS boys’ soccer won four out of its final five games at home, capping things by thumping La Conner Thursday night. (Julie Wheat photos)

They were in it to the very end.

A young Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad, which had no 12th graders to honor on Senior Night, was still fighting for a playoff spot in the season finale, proof of the scrappiness of a new-look roster.

And while the Wolves just barely missed out on that postseason berth, it was through no fault of their own, as they ran visiting La Conner off the field Thursday night in a campaign-closing 4-1 win.

With the victory, its fourth in its last five games on the pitch at Mickey Clark Field, CHS finishes 3-5 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-9 overall.

Defending state champ Orcas Island (8-0), Mount Vernon Christian (7-1), Friday Harbor (6-2), Lopez Island (5-3) and Providence Classical Christian (4-4) will rep District 1 in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood, Grace Academy, and La Conner finish in a logjam at 1-7 in league play, two games off of Coupeville.

Having finished his first season at the helm of the CHS boys’ pitch program, Wolf coach Jim Kunz sees a bright future for the booters.

Coupeville can return every player on its roster, with 12 of 15 players being sophomores, freshmen, or 8th graders.

“One of the biggest things for us was seeing the 8th graders step up and show they can play high school ball,” Kunz said. “We’ve got potential for our future years, and for building a really strong program.”

A growing number of Wolves have committed to playing select soccer and putting in off-season work, and while the team had no seniors, coaches used the opportunity to praise their three junior captains — Sage Arends, Solomon Rudat, and Sam Richards — for providing leadership to the young guns.

“Sage has been leading on and off the field,” Kunz said in pre-game comments.

“He’s a powerhouse on the field and spends personal time keeping teammates up to date on practices and games.

“Solomon is a graceful player on the field and has a knack for maintaining his temper and composure,” the coach added.

“Sam is an amazing goalie and vocally leads the team.”

It’s a war on the pitch.

While La Conner had little left to play for, the Braves put up a good fight in the first half Thursday, forcing the Wolves to scramble to reclaim the advantage.

Coupeville got on the board fairly early, as Edmund Wilson slapped a shot past the La Conner netminder less than three minutes into play.

Unfortunately, for the Wolves, they wouldn’t score again for nearly 40 minutes.

La Conner evened things at 1-1 thanks to a well-placed penalty kick, while Coupeville’s own chance to ring up a goal on a first-half PK slammed into the crossbar and bounced away.

Richards kept the game knotted up with several strong saves, including one in which he dove to spear a dangerous ball off the top of the grass, and the Wolves finally rediscovered their magic touch.

Arends slipped in the go-ahead goal in stoppage time, sending CHS into the break with a 2-1 lead, before Wilson came back around to punch in two more scores in the second half to net the hat trick.

With the late rush, Wilson finishes the season with eight goals, putting him one ahead of Arends in the race to lead the team.

With older bothers Aiden and Cael each scoring 13 times during their prep careers, the Wilson brothers have combined for 34 goals, second-most for one family in CHS boys’ soccer history.

Who are they chasing?

The Leyvas, as brothers Abraham (45 goals) and Aram (29) netted 74. Toss in Cousin Derek (38), and the number grows to an uncanny 112.

Arends also nabbed a bit of Wolf pitch history for himself, as his goal was the 10th of his high school career, making him the 14th CHS boy to crack double-digits.

 

Final season scoring stats:

Edmund Wilson – 8
Sage Arends – 7
Brian Thompson – 2
Edmund Kunz – 1
Liam Lawson – 1

Read Full Post »

Booters shine in prime-time performance

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on October 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Edmund Kunz scored his first high school goal Friday night. (Julie Wheat photos)

The spotlight suits them.

Playing under Friday Night Lights, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad rolled to a 4-1 win over visiting Grace Academy, sending their fans into a tizzy.

The victory is the third in the last five games for the Wolves and lifts them to 2-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-6 overall.

Playing on its home turf as the sun set over Mickey Clark Field on a fairly serene mid-October night, Coupeville’s pitch kings were in control of the game from start to finish.

Playing for the first time this season with a completely healthy roster, including the debut of Jacob Lujan after he battled back from a leg injury suffered during the first day of practice, Coupeville attacked in waves.

And the goals came, fast and furious, as Sage Arends put together a hat trick, in just one half of play.

His first score came on a charge up the middle barely three minutes into the game, as he dared the Grace goalie to stop him, then offered the netminder no chance.

The ball left Arends toe like a rocket, splashing into the back of the net, and the rout was on.

From there, the silky-smooth junior banged home shots while on the move at the 22-minute mark, then again at the 34-minute mark.

With those three goals, Arends has five on the season, moving him back to the top of the team scoring chart, and eight for his CHS career.

While spending most of the half on the retreat, Grace did manage to get a few shots of its own off, only to have Wolf goalie Sam Richards deny them.

His best move? A block where he went parallel to the ground to punch the incoming shot off to the side, where it rolled out of bounds harmlessly.

The visitors did break through in the second half, scoring their lone goal on a laser to the corner of the net with 18 minutes left to play.

But the Wolves, to the delight of a group of high school fans beating out a steady rhythm on the metal stands with their legs, had an almost immediate response.

A Coupeville player was sent sprawling to the turf during an ensuing scrum, earning a penalty kick for the Wolves, and CHS coach Jim Kunz sent his son, Edmund, to the line for the one-on-one play.

The move paid off, with Edmund Kunz hammering the crud out of the ball, spinning it past the flailing goalie, notching his first high school goal, and capping the night’s offensive performance.

Wyatt Fitch-Marron, man of many talents.

With the Wolves basking in the afterglow of a home victory, Jim Kunz praised his team’s play, while honoring Wyatt Fitch-Marron as his game MVP.

The sophomore helped anchor the team while playing as both a defender and midfielder and showed consistent bursts of speed and an ability to kick-start the Wolf attack.

Read Full Post »

“We made them work for it”

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , on October 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Sage Arends and Co. are learning under fire. (Jackie Saia photos)

Gotta stare down the big dogs.

Mount Vernon Christian has a rich tradition on the soccer pitch and is annually one of the best in the region.

But that doesn’t mean a young, scrappy Coupeville High School boys’ squad has to give in easily to the Hurricanes.

So, while CHS fell 8-1 at MVC Wednesday, the game was much more hotly contested than the score might have indicated.

“In the first half we held them off,” said Wolf coach Jim Kunz. “MVC let us and the refs know that they were annoyed.

“It seemed like they thought it would be an easy win. We made them work for it.”

The Hurricanes “pumped up their physicality and scoring efforts” in the second half, pulling away a bit, which caused “a frustrated CHS (to) start reverting to old tactics of double teaming and booting the ball.”

But even in a loss, Jim Kunz saw positives.

“Despite the score I’m happy with the progression I’m seeing out of this young team,” he said. “They had a change in coaching, a number of seniors graduated, and no seniors this year.

“Considering that we’re playing much better than I assumed.”

Now sitting at 1-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-6 overall, Coupeville got its lone goal off the foot of Edmund Wilson, with an assist going to Edmund Kunz.

It was Wilson’s team-leading fourth score of the campaign, and the 30th scored by his family, as older bothers Aidan and Cael tallied 13 goals apiece during their days in red and black.

The Wolves return to action this Friday, playing under the lights at Coupeville’s Mickey Clark Field.

Grace Academy is the foe, kickoff is set for 6:00 PM, and admission is free.

Sam Richards will defend his home goal Friday night.

Read Full Post »

Goaltenders fear their every move

Posted in soccer, tagged , , , , on October 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Ariella Lee-Spaulding dances in the pale moonlight. (Julie Wheat photos)

The magic number is 21.

That’s how many goals Coupeville High School soccer players have combined to score this season, with nine different Wolves beating opposing goaltenders.

Leading the way is freshman Tamsin Ward, who has accounted for more than a third of the tallies by herself.

The numbers are ever-shifting, however, and with the Wolf girls slated to play four more regular season games, and the boys scheduled for seven, expect things to change.

Where we sit, as of Oct. 8:

 

Girls:

Tamsin Ward – 8
Lyla Grose – 3
Paige Hill – 2
Finley Helm – 1
Ariella Lee-Spaulding – 1

 

Boys:

Sage Arends – 2
Brian Thompson – 2
Liam Lawson – 1
Edmund Wilson – 1

Brian Thompson rampages.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »