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Posts Tagged ‘Sean LeVine’

More wins, less hair!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , , on March 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

After a shave and haircut, soccer coach Sean LeVine was discovered hiding underneath.

After a shave and haircut, soccer coach Sean LeVine emerges a new man.

Sean LeVine’s family thanks you all. Their great national tragedy is over.

With his GU19 Whidbey Islanders soccer squad pulling off a 1-0 victory over the Northshore Evolution Saturday, LeVine finally went in for a shave and haircut, emerging as the silky-smooth coach his wife and three daughters sorta, kinda remembered from the past.

LeVine had vowed to let the locks and grizzle grow until the Islanders broke a recent losing streak, and reports of Sasquatch being seen on Whidbey had followed him during his day job as a paramedic.

No longer, and Lydia Peplinski gets the assist.

Well, actually, it was Gillian Crossley who got the assist, setting Peplinski up for the game’s lone score, but you get the point.

Crossley nabbed the ball early in the second half, snatching the ball out of the air then redirecting it to Peplinski, who banged home the goal from 18 yards out.

Her shot exploded like a firecracker, hitting the turf and taking a wicked curve that caused the Northshore goaltender to bobble it, then watch in silent horror as the loose ball skipped merrily into the back of the net.

The Evolution fought hard to try and get a tying goal, but Whidbey’s defense held strong. Despite playing with just one sub, the superbly-conditioned Islanders held up under fire.

“It was quite a battle and our players had to weather an early onslaught, but they held firm and kept them from having any meaningful shots on goal,” LeVine said. “Our stellar conditioning really won this game today.”

Whidbey came dangerously close to blowing the game wide open, with Crossley, Peplinski and Vivien Valles raining down shots from all sides.

Valles notched her second consecutive Player of the Game honors, showcasing hustle from opening whistle to closing whistle.

“That girl is just going 100%, doing what we ask of her, and the extra effort saved a goal for us today when a player broke through our back line and was caught by the speedy Valles, saving our keeper from having a one-on-one,” LeVine said. “She was also in on several opportunities on the offensive side of the pitch.

“I’m really proud of how well she is contributing right now.”

The Islanders will kick off one of its busiest months with a match Saturday, Mar. 7 (3:45 kickoff) at Wildcat Stadium in Oak Harbor.

Whidbey closes out the regular season and starts state cup tournament play at the end of the month.

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The facial hair stays (for now)!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , on February 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Gillian Crossley scored a pair of goals Sunday.

Gillian Crossley scored a pair of goals Sunday.

sean

Sean LeVine’s beard hits dangerous levels of growth in this surveillance photo.

Whidbey Islanders GU19 select soccer coach Sean LeVine has vowed not to shave or get a haircut until his team breaks its current losing streak.

To his wife Joline’s great disappointment, that day did not come Sunday.

“Now my wife is considering moving my bed to the couch. It doesn’t look good,” LeVine said with a laugh after the Islanders fell 5-2 at home in a game that was far more competitive than the score might sound.

Gillian Crossley tried to get the clippers fired up with an early goal, taking a “great through pass” from Hailey Erbe and banging the ball into the side of the net.

Unfortunately for those praying for a shaving, things got rougher from there, with the Islanders surrendering back-to-back goals on corner kicks.

“The sad part is that we’ve been scored on five times this season on corner kicks and we’ve put a lot of time in at practice on trying to correct this already,” LeVine said.

Three more unanswered goals dug a huge hole for the Islanders, though LeVine felt the Islanders played the second half “definitely looking like the more dangerous team.”

Crossley did her part, knocking in her second goal of the game on a “perfectly-placed shot” off of a chip from Vivien Valles, who was named the team’s Player of the Game for her “assist, several beautiful runs and her tenacity.”

The Islanders charged the net hard in the second half and created a number of chances, but couldn’t get another score before time ran out on them.

Even in a loss, one huge positive for Whidbey was the return to action of big-time players Paige Waterman and Jacalyn Hefflefinger.

Sidelined by injuries so far this season, Sunday’s action was their season debut.

“Paige put in some quality time in her traditional role at right defender,” LeVine said. “Jacalyn displayed her old ways at striker for us today and had two great chances on goal, one of which was a half volley off a cross that she nailed, but it went straight to the keeper.”

Playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd (“We had a great fan base today and it was really great for the girls to have so much support”), the Islanders put in a ferocious effort, team-wide.

“This game was so good that despite the three-goal lead, everyone there would tell you that they expected us to catch up at any moment,” LeVine said. “Our conditioning is really good right now and we looked really good offensively today, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way.”

The Islanders return to action with a game at Bothell Saturday, Feb. 28.

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No rest! Ever!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , , on January 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Micky LeVine scored one of Whidbey's two goals Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Micky LeVine scored one of Whidbey’s two goals Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Racked by injuries and game-day absences, the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad is getting used to playing games with no subs this season.

Field enough players to go (or sometimes, play a man or two down) and they’ll go the full 90 minutes and push you hard. But, it wouldn’t hurt to have a full roster.

“This season has been really tough so far,” said Islanders coach Sean LeVine. “But I believe we have the talent to succeed despite that and we have been in every game.”

Saturday was a case in point, as Whidbey played host Newport FC almost evenly before fatigue and a few bad breaks sent it to a tough 4-2 loss.

Even in defeat, the Islanders had moments of brilliance, with both of their goals being highlight-reel material.

The first one came off the toe of Hailey Erbe, who took a beautifully-slotted through pass from teammate Gillian Crossley and beat the Newport goaltender.

“Their defense incorrectly tried an offsides trap leaving her one-on-one with their keeper,” LeVine said. “Hailey expertly shot the ball into the side netting, freezing their keeper.”

The Islanders struck again when they pulled out their secret weapon — the cannon-like arm of Alyssa Cross.

Airmailing a throw-in, Cross dropped it right in front of the goal, allowing the ever-sneaky Micky LeVine to slide in and punch the ball into the back of the net mere seconds before being bowled over by an uppity Newport defender.

“Alyssa can really throw a ball and it always takes the other team by surprise,” Sean LeVine said with a touch of pride in his voice.

Newport broke the game open with a couple of goals off of plays where the Islanders had no chance to get to the ball, but overall the Islanders stood up well against a constant onslaught.

Whidbey goalie Kenzie Perry recorded an eye-popping 14 saves, while LeVine gave big props to Cross, Lydia Peplinski and Vivien Valles for their hustle and willingness to fight through their fatigue.

The Islanders return to action next Saturday, Jan. 31, when they travel to Renton to play Kent United. Hopefully with a full roster.

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Young guns step up for depleted Islanders!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , , on January 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Lydia Peplinski

Lydia Peplinski

Technically, they won.

Despite playing without several key players, including all of their regular goalies, the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad was responsible for two of the three goals scored in its game Saturday.

Unfortunately, one of those scores was the dreaded own goal, as a miscue resulted in a ball being dumped into the Islander net by a Whidbey player.

Unable to overcome that misfortune, the Islanders eventually fell 2-1 to a visiting Crossfire team.

Even in the loss there were bright moments, however.

Lydia Peplinski, who narrowly missed on her own one-on-one chance, set up teammate Gillian Crossley on the Islanders’ lone goal into the other team’s net.

Taking a pass from Bailee Olson, Peplinski dumped it off to a streaking Crossley, who slammed home the score into the side netting with one swing of her super-charged left foot.

That tied the game up, but was also the final burst of offense from the Islanders.

Trying to hold on to the tie until the bitter end, Whidbey surrendered the eventual game winner on a corner kick.

With a chunk of his roster missing, Islander coach Sean LeVine dipped down and plucked three players from the local GU16 squad. He came away impressed with the trio.

“Jenna Cooley, the only freshman, did very well for us again and created several offensive chances,” LeVine said. “Emily Brown, and her golden left foot, helped out our very depleted back line today as a left back. Her patience and solid defending helped us keep the game close.

“Ebony “The Fearless” Campbell, who played goal keeper for us, really did well,” he added. “Her shot stopping, bravery, and timing in coming out of the goal really saved us many times. Without her today the game could have really gotten ugly. She really kept us in this game.”

The Islanders have a bye next weekend, returning to play Jan. 24 with a game in Bellevue against Newport FC.

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Not enough players? We’re good!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU19 Whidbey Islanders, tagged , , , , on December 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Kenzie Perry

Kenzie Perry was lights-out in goal for the Islanders Saturday.

Soccer is normally played with 11 to a side.

Don’t tell that to the GU19 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad, which started with 10 Saturday, finished with nine, and still almost won its game against a tough foe.

Despite being two players down for much of the second half, the Islanders only surrendered a goal on a place kick — set up by an inadvertent trip — falling 1-0 to visiting Seattle United South.

Not bad for a game in which Whidbey was missing stars like Erin Rosenkranz, Jenn Spark, Jacki Ginnings, Paige Waterman, Kendra Warwick, Ayla Muller and leading scorer Jacalyn Hefflefinger due to a combination of injuries, illness and absence.

Things got chippy when Bailee Olson was lost in the second half with a pulled hamstring, dropping the Islanders down to nine. Even then, though, they didn’t break.

“It was a very, very interesting game and our girls played their butts off!,” said Whidbey coach Sean LeVine. “They believed until the last second that we would get a goal or two.

“The loss is always tough, but given the circumstances, I think we won something more today and our team as a whole improved.”

Whidbey had its chances to net a tying goal, but Seattle United was able to escape at the last second each time.

Gillian Crossley went one-on-one with the rival goalie twice, just missing, while Lydia Peplinski beat the goalie but was pulled just wide and had her shot redirected by a scrambling defender.

With several starters sidelined, many Islanders ended up playing in different spots than normal. All stepped up.

“Morgan Zylstra played left back today, stepped in, and did wonderful,” LeVine said. “Gillian, Lydia and Bailee all had a chance at right back and did well.

“Big props to Lydia today who played center mid, right back, and striker, and did it all very well,” he added. “Also, to Kenzie Perry, who played goal for the full 90 and had too many saves to count. She deserved the shut out, but that darn PK was taken well.”

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