Wolf goalie Sarah Wright made several sensational saves Saturday, including one in the final moments of a 3-2 win. (John Fisken photo)
Move over, Vince Lombardi, cause Kyle Nelson has a few things to say.
The low-key, nattily-dressed Coupeville High School girls soccer coach had a message for his team at halftime Saturday afternoon.
“We can play with this team. We can beat this team. If we believe in ourselves.”
Apparently the Wolves were listening.
Trailing by two scores with just under 30 minutes to play, Coupeville rallied for three unanswered goals — the final one coming on a freak play — and stunned visiting Bellevue Christian 3-2.
The non-conference victory, which sent the gathered CHS football players into a mad celebration, evened the Wolves record at 1-1.
More importantly, it was a statement win, and a huge one.
Bellevue Christian hails from the Nisqually League, the conference which crosses over with the Olympic League come playoff time.
For a Wolf girls soccer program which has struggled in the postseason, having this kind of win, especially the way it came, is huge.
“I’m proud of the whole team,” Nelson said. “They came together and made it happen.”
And it truly was a team effort, as countless players made contributions.
The goal scorers will get the bright spotlight, but Coupeville doesn’t win if defensive whiz kid Mallory Kortuem doesn’t spend the afternoon relentlessly chasing down one breakaway after another.
It doesn’t win if freshmen Lily Zustiak and Genna Wright don’t play like hardened vets, scrapping for every ball.
It doesn’t win if Lindsey Roberts doesn’t mash the heck out of the ball (and any foe unlucky enough to linger next to Roberts sharp elbows).
It doesn’t win if Sage Renninger isn’t a calm, cool and collected captain, Maddy Hilkey, Natalie Hollrigel and Knight Arndt don’t play like scrappers and Avalon Renninger and Tia Wurzrainer don’t lock down their sides of the field.
And it certainly doesn’t win without second-half heroics from the trio of Sarah Wright, Kalia Littlejohn and Lauren Bayne.
It was Bayne who broke the spell, Littlejohn who lit the fuse and Wright who slammed the door shut.
Trailing 2-0 after BC snuck in a goal early in the second half (their first score came in the 25th minute of the first half), the Wolves were stuck in neutral.
They were getting decent looks at the net — Littlejohn had narrowly missed three or four times at that point — but couldn’t ruffle the Viking goaltender.
Until Bayne went medieval on her rear.
One of only two seniors on the CHS squad, the ever-dependable midfielder picked up a loose ball, turned and fired a point-blank shot that left her foot like it was coming out of a cannon.
The Bellevue net-minder reached for it, then watched in horror as it ripped right through her grasp, possibly leaving a gaping hole in her body as the ball slammed into the back of the net.
Given new life, the Wolves surged, staying on the attack.
It paid off less than two minutes later, when Roberts uncorked a long, looping drive that went airborne like a field goal attempt, then dropped on a dime at the feet of the hard-charging Littlejohn.
The BC goalie screamed (more a sob, really) as Kalia devoured her soul whole, abusing her ten different ways with a quick set of jukes, before knotting the game at 2-2 with a wicked slap shot.
If the Vikings thought Coupeville would settle for the stunning come-from-behind tie, they were wrong.
With just five minutes left in the suddenly action-packed tilt, Sage Renninger crushed a corner kick that headed for Littlejohn, who was lurking in front of the net.
Caught up in the melee (and perhaps frightened by the sight of Littlejohn coming at her, eyes flared and teeth bared), a BC defender made a fatal error and turned her foot the wrong way.
Renninger’s lob smacked the defender’s shoe right as Littlejohn lunged, and it angled off perfectly, skidding backwards into the net for an “own goal” that drove a stake through Bellevue’s collective heart.
The Vikings tried to push for the tying goal, but Wright was resolute in net for the Wolves, turning away multiple shots at the end, including one snag that knocked the wind out of every fan’s lungs.
The junior goalie is in her first year as a soccer player, having jumped over from volleyball, and her long experience as a softball catcher has been invaluable in giving her the skills necessary to surprise even her veteran coach.
Wright was a rock for CHS all afternoon, making several sliding saves in the first half, and handled the non-stop drizzle, which made the field and ball extra-slick, like a seasoned pro.
Coupeville Sports 