Soccer

The Friday Harbor girls varsity soccer match on Oct. 26 was rescheduled by a few hours to assist Coupeville in ferry complications. It certainly isn’t the only one the ferries have impacted. Sports have taken a hit from the ferry difficulties, causing changed plans, rescheduled games, leaving school early and getting back late.

After last week’s girls soccer match was canceled, the team was excited to get out on the field again in their match against Coupeville Tuesday, winning 4-0 and scoring another win on Wednesday with 8-1 against LaConner in their conference game.

Coach Kevin Cullen said of the Coupeville game, “Keeping it in perspective, we are so fortunate to have a season that we just roll with it,” Cullen said. “The sun came out for the second half and it was a really great game.”

Friday Harbor girls soccer has played Coupeville three times this season already, making this their fourth. Cullen remarked that though they’ve won all three matches against them, they are always a tough team, giving them plenty of competition.

Despite winning, Cullen said they’ve struggled with coming out flat, which during this game allotted Coupeville with an early goal.

After that, instead of feeling defeated, our girls upped their intensity, upped their communication, and put the pieces together for a very solid game.

“I was very proud of them for the character they showed, and I hope that it will carry us forward into our postseason run,” Cullen said.

While everyone participated- from the starters to the bench- Cullen said, “Sage Penwell, who has been solid in goal all year, stepped up when we really needed her and made some crucial saves.”

Ava Martin showed versatility when she allowed Cullen to move her from her forward position to give them some speed on defense while Ellee Perkins controlled the middle field.

“Meg Carrier converted on an incredible free-kick and was a nightmare for Coupeville’s defense,” Cullen remarked. “Kalli Zappelli, McKenna Clark, Ari Tucker-Belt, and Ella Raichlen all joined Meg in giving us one of the best offensive efforts this season.”

Thursday served as their senior night and second conference game as they played against La Conner. Due to injuries, this game was short-headed and La Conner was short of players, Cullen said.

Upon talking to the La Conner coach, several Friday Harbor players filled in their injured spots to make for a fair and balanced game.

“We wanted to have a positive experience for our seniors, as well as have an opportunity to give all of our subs a lot of minutes as it was the last home game in front of their families and friends,” he said.

Cullen described the game as being full-field and full-strength, leading to their sweeping 8-1 win.

“Our AD, Brock Hauck, has done a great job of making arrangements for all of our games, and we have enjoyed the extra time spent together on the road,” Cullen said. “I would like to thank the crew at Linde Fields. They have worked hard all season to keep our field in excellent shape. It has been greatly appreciated!”

Volleyball

Wolverines volleyball suffered two losses this week in their conference games with 3-0 against Mt. Vernon on Monday and 3-1 against Orcas on Tuesday.

“I feel what was missing was our energy and our intensity in the game,” said Coach Nadine Varsovia of the Mt. Vernon game. “Our team consists of many very athletic girls, but without the energy, we play at half speed, and almost half effort.”

Counter to the lack of energy, Varsovia said senior setter Ella Mason contributed some great net above the net defense. In addition, junior, setter, Mia Blackmon, hustled for every ball and made sure she gave every touch her full effort.

The team was also led by senior, libero, Olivia Germain, who not only performed well under the pressure but was also a leader for her team and maintained their positivity through every point.

The energy was back up in the match against Orcas, which despite losing, Varsovia said was a fierce match.

“All of the varsity team played with passion, determination, and true grit,” she continued. “Keeping their energy high through every single point, and having a big crowd and support from JV helped them to do this.”

Ella Mason’s serving skills shone brightly as she started off the fourth set with 10 points in a row from her serving alone.

Blocks were executed by Dani McKay, the middle blocker, and also scored points off of kills by Esme Smith and Ayana Berube, the team’s outside hitters.

Seniors Ella Mason, Olivia Germain, and Rachelle Cruz were also celebrated at this game.

This game also served as a “pink out” for breast cancer awareness and both teams baked items to sell to raise money to donate towards a breast cancer charity, Young Survival Coalition.

Varsovia said, over the course of both the Oct. 25 game against Mount Vernon Christian and the Oct. 26 game against Orcas, the team managed to raise over $700.

A loss for the Wolverines but a win for charity.