Coupeville High School soccer coach Troy Cowan understands that every match includes many more “wins” than the big one on the scoreboard.

So, although the Wolves lost 4-3 Saturday, Oct. 3, to visiting Crosspoint Academy, he said the match “sure felt good.”

There was much to like from his point of view in Coupeville’s battle with the defending state 2B champions.

First was the intensity of his players.

“All season we have been working hard on increasing our own intensity and focusing on surpassing the level of our opponents’ intensity levels,” Cowan said. “The match was epic and the girls are battling for every loose ball and competing in every category.”

Second were the goals scored by May Rose (her first of the season) and Bree Daigneault.

“May has been working hard all season and has been so close to scoring on many chances and finally hit pay dirt with a beautiful shot,” he said. “We focused all week on our shooting and keeping the ball on frame, and Bree did a masterful job putting the ball in the corner net, just out of reach of the goalkeeper’s fingertips.”

Third was the work of the Wolves’ defense. Crosspoint came into the match having outscored its previous three opponents 27-1.

“All of our defenders stepped up big,” Cowan said, noting the exceptional work of one, Taichen Rose.

“She is the hardest-working player on the pitch, never complains, gives me and her teammates 100 percent every second on the pitch and does it with a smile on her face,” he said.

“She has grown leaps and bounds from her freshman year to yesterday.”

Cowan said it is unclear who scored Coupeville’s third goal. It started with a corner kick by Jennifer Spark, and “no one (is) sure who or what happened.”

Spark also set up the Wolves’ two best chances for a tying goal late in the match, one on a corner kick and another on a shot from 45 yards that hit the cross bar.

Coupeville (2-3-3) has one more non-league match (6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at La Conner) before heading into conference play.