A momentary lapse in defensive concentration cost the Kenai Central boys Friday night, who fell 1-0 to Colony in a close Northern Lights Conference matchup at Colony High School.
After opening the contest with a quick shot on goal to prove their quality against one of the state’s top boys teams, Kenai allowed a goal in the 12th minute to Cameron Shaw, who scored on an assist from Alex Valdez.
The loss dropped the Kardinals to 5-2 overall.
Kenai coach Joel Reemtsma said the first half saw an epic struggle for possession, one that he thought Kenai held.
“We were pounding them for a while,” Reemtsma said.
Junior Tristan Landry finished the game without allowing a goal after the early strike. Kenai was also playing without crucial senior sweeper Max Dye, who was held out on precautionary reasons.
Reemtsma praised the midfield play of Ean Atchley and Draiden McMinn, who kept up the energy to stymy the Knights attack.
“In the second half, we were throwing more people forward,” Reemtsma said. “We just couldn’t quite put away chances in the first half.”
Kenai girls 0, Colony 0
The Kardinals battled a fierce wind and Knights team to preserve a tie in Northern Lights Conference action Friday night. Kenai slipped to 5-1-1 overall this season with the draw.
Kenai coach Dan Verkuilen said he believed Kenai held better possession and controlled the pace of the game, but ultimately could not
“We probably had the most chances, the most control, but they had some good offensive buildup at times,” Verkuilen said. “It’s one of those games you could see being a regional playoff game at some point.”
Senior goalkeeper Alli Steinbeck had the shutout for Kenai.
Verkuilen commended Cori Holmes and Hannah Drury for containing the midfield attack.
Soldotna boys 4, Palmer 0
The SoHi boys improved to 6-3 overall this season by blanking the Moose Friday evening in Palmer.
Timmy Smithwick, Eli Sheridan, Andrew Hammond and Ben Godfrey all scored for the Stars and senior Dylan Kuntz notched three assists. Blake Jones had the shutout in goal.
Smithwick struck first in the 18th minute, and was quickly followed by Hammond two minutes later. Sheridan poked one in with help from Kuntz in the 30th minute to give SoHi a 3-0 lead by halftime. Godfrey notched his goal in the 55th minute.
Soldotna girls 7, Palmer 0
Abi Tuttle scored four times Friday night in NLC play to lead the charge for the Stars, and Ella Stenga got the shutout in goal.
After a start to the game that SoHi coach Jimmy Love called flat, Soldotna was able to quickly notch goals.
“We finally got going by seven or eight minutes in, but when that whistle blows, you can’t wait eight minutes to get the game going,” Love cautioned. “When you’re up against a team like South, you’ll be down three or four goals if you wait around.”
Luckily, Palmer was not able to pounce on the early laziness by the Stars. Tuttle opened the scoring with an assist from Jaela Hubbard in the ninth minute, and Hubbard and Alaina Bramante added a goal each in the next two minutes to stake out a fast 3-0 lead.
Alyssa Wolfe assisted on another Tuttle goal in the 34th minute to notch a 4-0 lead at halftime. Tuttle completed her hat trick five minutes into the second half with help from Whitney Wortham, and posted her fourth scoring strike five minutes later. Reagan Schoessler, who ended the day with a pair of assists, finished off the scoring in the 67th minute with an assist from freshman Hannah Delker.
The win boosted Soldotna to 5-3 overall this season.
Wasilla girls 5, Seward 1
A late goal by Tia Miranda helped prevent a shutout by Wasilla’s JV team Friday night in Seward.
Wasilla led 3-0 at the half, but continued to build the lead with a pair of goals early in the second half.
“I thought we played pretty even with them,” said Seward girls coach James Wayne. “But the ball bounced their way sometimes.”
Seward dropped to 0-2 overall.
Nikiski girls 6, Joe Redington 1
Deidra Lamping led the Nikiski girls with four goals Friday night in a rout over second-year team Joe Redington Junior/Senior High School.
Verity Feltman added two goals, while Abby Bystedt preserved a shutout in goal for the first half for Nikiski. In the second half, Nikiski coach Troy Zimmerman replaced Bystedt with senior Avery Kornstad in goal. Kornstad typically plays in a defensive sweeper role.
Homer girls 8, Kodiak 1
The Mariners cruised to a dominant Northern Lights Conference victory over the Bears Friday evening in Kodiak, improving to 3-2 overall this season.
Ulianna Reutov recorded a hat trick to lead Homer’s charge, and Sam Draves played a scoreless first half in goal for the Mariners. Allison McCarron replaced Draves in goal for the second half, giving the senior some time out front. Draves made it count with a goal of her own.
Sydney Lee opened the scoring for Homer and Reutov added on for a 2-0 lead at halftime.
A Reutov goal early in the second half made it 3-0, and later completed her hat trick to make it 5-0. Raisa Basargin, Megan Pitzman, Draves and Rachel Ellert all added scoring strikes in the second half as well.
