LAKEWOOD — The Lady Cougars soccer team took their second win against Coupeville at home on Tuesday, Oct. 1, winning 2-0.
“I wouldn’t classify Coupeville as one of our bigger rivals, but every year is a different year,” said head coach Steve Brown.
The Cougars beat the Wolves for the second time this season, the first being a 7-0 match on Sept. 19. This time, the Cougars took an early lead with a goal scored in the first two minutes by Sophia Morgan, assisted by senior captain Hailey Duitsman. The second goal came in the 38th minute, set up by Maddie DeYoung and scored by Cassidy Fry.
This season is looking up for the Cougars who were extremely young last year having graduated 13 players.
“Last year we were a young team because we lost 13 players, and this year we returned pretty much everybody, and JV players who moved up in addition to that.”
The Cougars are playing at a highly competitive level, especially since most play on select teams in the off-season.
“We tied for the final district spot and ended up having a playoff game against Cedarcrest and lost, so we didn’t make it to districts,” said Brown. “This year, they definitely want to get to districts. The year of experience last year helped, because a lot of them were young. One of their strengths is definitely the way they move the ball and their passing skills — they pass the ball really well. We have a really strong defense as well, and we don’t allow a lot of goals.”
Duitsman and Shantel St. Jean are the two captains who are helping to lead the Cougars to success.
“The girls respect them a lot and they are leaders on the field — they lead by example just by the way they play the game,” said Brown.
They face key league games, including Archbishop Murphy, a team that is 8-0 overall and leading the league.
“They are ranked number three in the state, but the first time we played them it was a really close match,” said Brown. “They are a big rival, so that’s one of the team’s goals for the year is to beat Archbishop Murphy.”
The Cougars face the Wildcats in an away game on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m.
