Arisbeth Montiel, seen here in an earlier game, scored twice Saturday in an 8-0 win. (Sylvia Hurlburt photos)
Jovanah Foote has become a crowd favorite in her first year as a booter.
Lauren Grove was the loneliest girl in town.
The Coupeville High School soccer goalie got all dressed up and then spent 80 minutes cooling her heels, as she didn’t face a single shot on goal Saturday.
With the Wolves scoring early and often, they eventually had to spend the final 30 minutes of the game conducting a passing drill to keep from thrashing visiting Forks any harder than they did.
When the ref finally, mercifully signaled the end of play, allowing the visitors to head back to their bus and the pile of pizzas waiting them (Coupeville moms pulled off a surprise Pizza Factory delivery as a thank you for the Spartans making the long trip), the scoreboard read 8-0.
And it could have been much, much worse, if Wolf coach Troy Cowan hadn’t very firmly applied the brakes.
Capturing the first win of the fall season for any CHS squad, varsity or JV, the Wolf booters, now 1-1-1 on the season, controlled every aspect of the game.
Kalia Littlejohn provided her squad with the only goal it would actually need in the game’s 11th minute, cracking in a shot from the right side for her third goal of the season.
It was the third straight game she had scored, keeping her perfect during her young high school career.
Once the bubble was burst, the Wolves poured it on.
Bree Daigneault punched in a goal, taking a booming corner kick off the foot of Jenn Spark, catching it and flipping it past the stricken goalie.
It was a feeling the Spartans net-minder would feel often on the day, with the game’s third goal coming on a ball that landed in the goalie’s hands, then popped free.
Seizing the moment, Ashley Smith tapped in the ball and the rout was on.
After that, the rest of the first half was the Mia Littlejohn show.
Back after missing a game, the super sophomore scored on a bull run, assisted on a score by Arisbeth Montiel, then capped the half with a bomb from almost midfield that splashed into the back of the net.
Coupeville continued to push, for just a bit, in the second half, with Montiel notching her second score and Spark pulling off a nasty pump fake move that left two Spartans on the ground while she slid by for the game’s final goal.
After that, the Wolves noticeably pulled back, passing up numerous breakaway opportunities while working on their passing game, with Sage Renninger, Lindsey Roberts, May Rose and others essentially playing keep-away.
Crowd favorite Jovanah Foote, a Wolf cheerleader moonlighting as a booter for the first time, made several strong runs near the end and came dangerously close to notching a goal, which would have sent her ardent fans into a fit.
I’m just saying. If Foote had hit pay dirt, Dawn Hesselgrave would have come fully unglued.
And Grove?
She finally touched the ball 64 minutes into the match, when Roberts, circling on defense, tapped it back to her, mainly to check and see if her goalie was still awake.
Grove was, and she flashed a huge smile as the pro-Coupeville crowd went bonkers razzing her for her “great save.”
It was a smile worn by all the Wolves on this day, a sunny afternoon when the goals rained down from the heavens.
