The Soldotna boys and Homer girls soccer teams picked up Peninsula Conference victories Tuesday at Justin Maile Field in Soldotna.
The Stars boys toppled Homer 3-0 to move to 1-0 in the league and 2-1-1 overall, while the Mariners dropped to 1-1 in the league and 1-4 overall.
The girls game belonged to the Mariners by a 1-0 score. Homer moved to 2-0 and 2-1-2, while the Stars dropped to 0-1 and 1-2-1.
Both Soldotna boys coach Erik Dolphin and Homer boys coach Adam Diaz agreed that the difference in the game was Soldotna having more possession of the ball.
“I think our biggest thing is we know in the long run the long ball doesn’t work,” Dolphin said. “We’re going to be playing teams where the long ball doesn’t work so right now our biggest process from now until the end of May is to work on building and possession, because it’s the short game that’s going to be successful.”
Two of Soldotna’s goals came by building possession, getting a bunch of players in the box and kicking until the ball went in. In the 34th minute, Brock Poe gave the Stars a 1-0 lead on such a goal. Just four minutes later, Poe had the Stars up 2-0 on a cross from Silas Larsen.
In the 60th minute, Maleda Denbrock finished off the scoring after another scramble in the box.
Dolphin said Zac Buckbee and Collin Peck did a good job of winning 50-50 balls in the midfield, while the defense was solid in getting Gehret Medcoff a shutout. The coach also gave kudos to Larsen for a few nice plays up front and Quinn Cox for his constant engine at midfield.
“I will say they had a heart the whole game and that’s something we’re trying to build this season around,” Diaz said of his team. “What was detrimental was the lack of connecting passes, and that will be our main focus going forward.”
Diaz said he is looking forward to playing Soldotna again and seeing if he can come up with a formation that works. The coach also gave credit to Owen Pitzman for playing the hardest of all the Homer players on the field.
The girls game was decided by a Debbie Weisser goal 30 minutes into the first half, assisted by Ava Halstead. Weisser was able to carry the ball up from the midfield and score on a 20-yard shot.
Felicia Weisser had the shutout in net.
“Everybody had a great game,” Homer coach Mike Tozzo said. “I also thought we sat back a little in the second half and tried to protect the lead.”
The coach said Sydney Shelby and Mariah McGuire stood out on defense, while Minadora Reutov was good up front.
“SoHi had plenty of opportunities to score,” Tozzo said. “We certainly didn’t dominate them. The next time we play, it could go either way.”
Soldotna coach Jimmy Love said his team did not play its best game.
“You can’t expect to win when you’re not playing your best game,” he said. “We weren’t going to 50-50 balls, we weren’t physical enough and we weren’t taking shots.”
Love also thought his team grew frustrated as the game went on, leading to individual and not team play.
“You never want to lose,” Love said. “At the same time, it’s a teaching moment and we’ll only get better from here.”
Love said Zayra Poage and Sariah Waugh did a great job with work ethic and chasing the ball everywhere. The coach also said Jolie Widaman and Katharine Bramante did a good job on defense.
Kenai Central girls 10, Nikiski 0
Freshman Sarah Baisden had a hat trick for the host Kardinals as they claimed a Peninsula Conference victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday.
The Kenai girls are 1-0 in the league and 2-1-1 overall, while the Nikiski girls are 0-2 and 0-2.
In addition to a field still not quite ready for play, Nikiski also faces a numbers issue.
“Nikiski had one person on the bench,” Kenai coach Dan Verkuilen said. “Their kids played really hard and gave good effort, but with no breaks all game they wore down.”
Verkuilen said his team did a nice job of working on good first touches, support and passing. That possession led to shots, but Verkuilen said his team needs to be more accurate when shooting.
The coach said it was also nice to see so many players contribute to the scoring.
First half goals were Kori Moore from Seanna Swanson, Baisden, Rylie Sparks on a penalty kick and Kate Wisnewski on a direct kick.
Second half goals were Baisden twice unassisted, Tait Cooper from Kylie Verkuilen, Leah Fallon from Alexis Taylor, Moore from Sparks and Sparks from Verkuilen.
Maddie Malone and Grace Beiser combined on the shutout in net.
Nikiski coach Angie Coelho wrote in an email that Emma Weeks had over 30 saves in goal. Coelho said playing with one sub is tough, but she appreciated Verkuilen being supportive and encouraging.
Kenai Central boys 15, Nikiski 2
The Kardinals notched a Peninsula Conference win to move to 1-0 and 1-3, while Nikiski fell to 0-2 and 0-2.
Kenai coach Shane Lopez said Aloshia Cross, Samuel Baisden, Enrique Mercado, Sawyer Vann, Daniel Shelden, Wade James, Ben Boersma, Cole Langham and Dresden Reith were all part of the scores, but that’s not necessarily a comprehensive list.
Lopez also liked what he saw from freshman Ben Harris at defense.
“Our guys played well, moved the ball well and created a lot of chances for themselves,” Lopez said.
Nikiski’s goals were by Ayden Fleming, assisted by David Weathers, in the first half, and Weathers from Fleming in the second half. Nikiski coach Jeremy Garrett also said Dylan Hall was strong in goal with 26 saves.
Garrett said his team had no subs and also has yet to get on a practice field.
“The boys didn’t give up even though they lost 15-2,” Garrett said. “The other coach did a good job with substitutions.”
