Coupeville’s seniors claim control of the soccer pitch. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
There’s always something new.
Robert Wood is 48 games into his run as a soccer coach at Coupeville High School, but Saturday’s home opener against Crosspoint provided a different wrinkle.
Playing through a few rain drops spit from an overcast prairie sky, the Wolves rallied in the second half to forge a 1-1 tie with their private school rivals, the first ever stalemate under their pitch guru.
With the contest being a non-conference one, the teams passed on playing overtime or going to a shoot-out to decide things. Instead, a mixed result for both squads.
And while Wood felt his team played better than it had in an earlier road loss to Auburn Adventist Academy, he wasn’t terribly overjoyed with Saturday’s result.
“We beat ourselves,” he said. “Just the very definition of apathetic.
“We didn’t play well enough to keep control of the ball and were tentative a lot of the time. Stuff to work on.”
The Wolves, now 0-1-1 on the season, play at home twice next week, welcoming Northwest 2B/1B League foes Friday Harbor and Grace Academy to Coupeville for non-conference games Tuesday and Saturday, respectively.
That will give the Wolves a chance to work on tightening up their attack and finding the fire in their collective bellies.
It’s not hard to believe it’s there, as there was moments Saturday when things sparked to life.
Trailing 1-0 early in the second half, despite outshooting Crosspoint, Coupeville finally found the counter when Sage Arends knocked in his first varsity goal with 32 minutes left to play.
The Wolves had at least two chances to claim the lead in the late going but came up just short.
Senior Preston Epp sent a penalty kick just barely wide left, the ball coming tantalizingly close to finding the back of the net as Crosspoint’s goaltender watched his life flash before his eyes.
Then, with the game in stoppage time, 8th grader Tamsin Ward, already having an impact in her high school debut, bashed a high arcing shot under pressure.
While the ball needed to be several feet lower to hit paydirt, it was still an impressive wallop from a young gun who shows no fear on the pitch.
Coupeville is playing as a co-ed team for the second straight season, while rebuilding the roster for a girls’ team, with female booters like Ward, Ayden Wyman, Lillian Ketterling, and Taylor Marrs holding their own in male-centric games.
Crosspoint tallied the afternoon’s first score 19 minutes into play, when freshman Caleb Smart slipped a shot through a thicket of players in front of the net.
Other than that shot, on which he was largely blocked from seeing the incoming ball, Wolf goalie Hurlee Bronec was lights out.
At one point the senior netminder deflected a shot at close range, then soared high to punch another ball up and over the goal.
Coupeville’s defensive front made Bronec’s job a lot easier after that, largely keeping Crosspoint at bay across the game’s final 50 minutes or so.
With a strong core of seniors, which includes Cael Wilson, Mason Butler, Dane Hadsall, Epp, Wyman, Bronec, Angel Partida, and Matthew Ward, the Wolves are primed for a successful run.
While Saturday’s tie was a mixed bag, Wood remains focused on the positives.
“We’ll keep working, that’s for sure,” he said as he headed into the night.
