The Soldotna girls and boys soccer teams finished up a trip to Southeast with victories over Thunder Mountain on Saturday.
The Stars girls finished 2-1 on the trip and are now 6-2-2 overall. In the 3-0 victory over the Falcons girls, Margarida Mendoca had her second shutout of the trip.
The goals came from Rhys Cannava, Journey Miller and Cameron Blackwell.
Coach Jimmy Love said the trip was very valuable.
“It was good to play against other teams rather than staying home for another weekend,” Love said. “I always tend to nit pick, but overall it was a great weekend.
“We didn’t play to our opponent. We didn’t slide down that path. We played our game.”
The Stars boys finished 1-1 on the trip after defeating the Falcons 4-0, getting a shutout in net from Hunter Woodward.
The lone goal of the first half was Levi Rosin from Alex Montague. In the second half, Montague scored on an assist from Josh Heiber, Heiber scored on an assist from Montague and Montague scored on an assist from Austin Escott.
After a Friday loss to Juneau, SoHi coach David Holmes said Saturday’s win was vindicating.
“Defensively, we played a really strong game today,” Holmes said. “We did a good job shutting them down. Their offense was impressive but we held them to long shots. They couldn’t dribble through.”
Grace girls 4, Seward 0
The visiting Grizzlies dropped the Seahawks to 0-4 overall Saturday.
Seward coach Coty Beck continues to be encouraged.
“Overall, we’re growing with each game,” he said. “I hear it from the refs and I hear it from other coaches. This is a different soccer team than Seward’s seen in the past. We’re playing soccer and understand the game more and more.”
Beck said the final step for the team is finishing. He said the Seahawks attacked the goal in the first half but came up empty.
The coach said Naomi Ifflander was getting after it all over the field, while Meghan Mullaly held down the back line. Makaira Williams also saw a lot of shots in only letting in four, and Beck said the goalie continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
Grace boys 3, Seward 2
Neil Lindquist and Sam Koster scored goals for Seward in a close loss Saturday in Seward. The Seahawks dropped to 0-4 overall this season.
The Grizzlies scored two early goals but Lindquist’s strike before the end of the first half cut the lead to 2-1 by the break, said Seward head coach Dustin Phillips.
Koster’s goal from about 25 yards out with 15 minutes left in the second half tied it up at 2 apiece, but Grace came back one more time to score with about eight minutes left.
“We only had 12 guys today,” Phillips said. “We’re missing three or four with some injuries, so we’re hoping to get back to healthy and give them a better game.”
Phillips said Collin Mullaly played well in goal for Seward, which will play next Friday at Nikiski in a Peninsula Conference contest.
Homer girls 6, Grace 1
Homer freshman sensation Kappa Reutov continued her hot run with a hat trick Friday in Homer.
Reutov recorded her second three-goal game of the season and 14th in nine games for Homer in her first year on the team. The win lifted Homer’s season mark to 6-1-4.
Eve Brau tallied two goals for Homer and Zoe Stonorov also scored. Ali McCarron had four saves in goal for the Mariners.
Brau got the Mariners off to a quick start with a goal less than five minutes in, then Reutov scored in the 22nd and 35th minutes to forge a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Homer pushed the lead to 5-0 in the second half before the Grizzlies got on the board in the 52nd minute. Stonorov scored in the 63rd minute to cap the scoring.
Homer 2, Grace Christian 1
The Mariners got two first-half goals and held on to pick up a nonconference contest Friday in Homer.
Homer moved to 5-3-2 overall this season.
The evening started with Dexter Lowe’s goal in the 27th minute, and the Mariners kept up the momentum with a goal by Phinny Weston in the 38th minute on an assist from Ethan Pitzman that put Homer up 2-0 at halftime.
Grace snuck in a goal late in the second half but the Mariners held on to win.
Juneau girls 4, Soldotna 0
The Crimson Bears defended home turf Friday in Juneau with a shutout win over SoHi in nonconference play. The loss dropped the Stars to 5-2-2 overall this season.
Juneau got on the board first with an early goal, then slotted another in late in the first half to grab a 2-0 lead at the break. The Crimson Bears tallied two more midway through the second half to complete the day.
Margarida Mendoca recorded the complete game in goal for SoHi.
Juneau boys 6, Soldotna 0
The SoHi boys were shut out by a staunch Crimson Bears squad Friday in Juneau, dropping the Stars to 5-4 overall this year.
Juneau raced to a 2-0 lead at halftime, then iced the final result with four second-half goals.
Nikiski girls 4, Seward 0
The Bulldogs secured a road victory Friday in Seward to record their first win of the season, moving their record to 1-3 in conference and 1-3-2 overall.
Abby Bystedt earned the shutout in goal for Nikiski.
Emma Wik tallied two goals to lead the Bulldogs offense. Wik and McKinlee Jeffreys notched goals in the first half to get Nikiski out to a 2-0 halftime lead, then Lillian Carstens scored in the second half, along with Wik’s second of the day, to secure the victory.
Nikiski boys 4, Seward 0
The Nikiski boys blanked the Seahawks to notch a Friday sweep in Seward for the Bulldogs soccer programs.
Gavin White, Justin Harris, Shane Weathers and Jim Lamping netted goals for Nikiski (1-3 conference, 3-3 overall). White got the day started with a strike in the first half to put Nikiski up 1-0 at halftime, then Harris, Weathers and Lamping helped seal the win in the second half.
