Coupeville booter Lauren Bayne celebrated Senior Night Monday alongside long-time running mate Sage Renninger. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Monday night was not really about the scoreboard.
Yes, they kept track of the scoring, and yes, Klahowya, a juggernaut in hot pursuit of a third girls soccer state title, dominated Coupeville in a 6-0 win.
Nothing unusual there, as the Eagles are 14-1 on the season, with just a loss to a top 2A school, and have outscored their foes 78-7.
The Wolves are a scrappy team, one which sits at 7-8 overall, 5-3 in Olympic League play, with a chance to tie the program record for wins in Wednesday’s regular-season finale at cellar dweller Chimacum.
After that, thanks to a fourth consecutive second-place finish in league play, Coupeville hosts a playoff game at 1 PM Saturday at Oak Harbor Stadium.
The opponent in the loser-out game will be the #3 seed from the Nisqually League (most likely Vashon Island).
And, while the Wolves are still a long way from upending the highly-polished Eagles, they will have a fighting chance as they chase the first playoff win in program history.
Case in point — Coupeville already beat the #1 school from the Nisqually League earlier this season, Bellevue Christian, when they upended the Vikings 3-2 after rallying from two goals down.
Also, while the final score against Klahowya might seem a bit skewed, the Wolves, who have played the second half of the season without injured top defender Lindsey Roberts, made the Eagles work for every score.
“There were a lot of positives. Our defense grows every game,” Coupeville coach Kyle Nelson said. “Team defense is the name of the game.”
After Klahowya slipped in a fluky goal just 28 seconds into play, the Wolves clamped down and held their foes to just one goal over the next 35 minutes.
A pair of scores right before the half, one on a ball which hit an elbow and took a weird bounce, stretched the lead to 4-0 at the break.
CHS goaltender Sarah Wright, in her first year after making the jump from the volleyball court, played an outstanding game in net, repeatedly making saves, and, at one point, charging out of the goal to wipe out an incoming Eagle.
Dropping the wayward Klahowya player with a well-timed collision, while making it look innocent to the ref, Wright sent a message — do not encroach on my space, fool.
The Wolf junior was active all game, diving to spear incoming balls on several plays, then elevating to punch a point-blank shot up and over the net on another.
Her little sis, fab frosh Genna Wright, had a couple of nice looks at the goal on the other end of the field, but Klahowya goalie Emma Hough made superb saves on both shots.
The Eagles swarming defense was in lock-down mode most of the game after that, though Kalia Littlejohn scraped together two shots on goal of her own.
The first went just wide on the left side, while the second was redirected at the last second by Hough’s fist.
While Coupeville couldn’t pull off the “Miracle on Grass” this time around, Monday’s match, as we mentioned way back in the first paragraph, wasn’t just about the scoreboard.
It was the final true home game of the season, and the Wolves paid tribute to senior captains Sage Renninger and Lauren Bayne before kickoff.
In between the hugs and the tears and the gift baskets and the photo ops, the duo’s own words were read by Wolf mom Tammy Smith.
Renninger spoke about her sister and teammate, sophomore Avalon, saying:
“Even though we do fight on and off the field, I want to thank Avalon for being one of the kindest, funniest people I know and an amazing sister. I know you’ll miss me next year.”
She also looked back at the full four-year run she’s had on the CHS pitch, remembering the moment which baptized her in the sisterhood of the soccer ball.
“One of my favorite memories of high school soccer is scoring my first goal at home on our field,” Renninger wrote. “I was a freshman on a team with nine seniors, and I will never forget the moment when everyone crowded around me in celebration.
“I am so grateful for everything soccer has taught me and I am excited to see what the future holds.”
Bayne, who played all four of those seasons alongside her running mate, has sacrificed personal stats while anchoring the defense. It’s a trade-off she’s happy with.
“Our little soccer family is the best and I’m so glad to have become friends with everyone and to get to play with you,” she wrote. “Most of all, my defenders, we have worked our butts off and the new defensive line this year has been killer.
“So kisses to my back line.”
After telling Renninger “I couldn’t think of a better person to stand side by side with all these years,” Bayne offered words of wisdom to her younger teammates.
“My freshman year I probably played a maximum of 30 minutes all together and now look at me, I can’t even get a water break the entire game.
“So, to all the underclassmen, keep working hard and having fun,” Bayne added. “You will improve and it will show.
“Don’t worry too much. I know I never did. Just enjoy where you are and have fun.”
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