Thursday: Soldotna soccer sweeps Kenai; Homer sweeps Houston

The Soldotna girls and boys soccer teams swept Kenai Central by 2-0 scores in Peninsula Conference action Thursday at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School.

The Stars girls defeated the Kardinals for the first time in three tries this season. Kenai is 3-1 in the league and 10-3 overall, while the Stars are 3-1 and 9-4-2.

With no conference tournament this season, both Kenai Central coach Jeff Siemers and Soldotna coach Jimmy Love were not sure how the conference title is decided with both teams at 3-1.

The bigger focus for both coaches was on the Rating Percentage Index that the Alaska School Activities Association will use to seed the Division II state tournament. Kenai is No. 1 on that list, while Soldotna is No. 2.

The Soldotna boys, who are 3-0 against Kenai this season, won the conference with a 6-0 record and are also 12-4-1 overall. The Kards are 3-2-1 and 9-5-2. SoHi was No. 1 in RPI as of late Thursday night, while Kenai was No. 4.

Nobody gets the upper hand in the Kenai-Soldotna girls rivalry for long, and Thursday things swung back to Soldotna.

“To me, it was the two teams had a complete reversal from what we’d seen previously,” Love said. “I think they played well the first two games, and we didn’t.

“Today, it was just our turn. We played better today.”

Love gave his girls all the credit.

“I saw a couple of the girls last night at graduation,” he said. “They were just ready to go. I’m like, ‘Perfect.’”

Meanwhile, Kenai had not played in 10 days. Siemers thought that showed in the first half. He said Soldotna connected passes while his team struggled to keep possession.

“There was a level of us not really waking up to the game until halftime,” Siemers said. “Go down 2-0 in a rivalry game and it’s going to be really hard to dig yourself out of that hole.”

In the 17th minute, Sadie Lane played the ball up the side to Jazzalynn McDonald. McDonald crossed to Jillian Duncan for the score. Love said that exact play has been a point of emphasis, so it was great to see it pay off.

In the 36th minute, Duncan hit a corner to Mia Hannevold, who headed it past keeper Maddie Malone and just over the line before Kenai was able to clear it.

Love said everything came together in that first half, especially the way the team competed for the ball.

“That’s something we’ve been preaching, not just against Kenai, but a lot of teams that we’ve played against,” he said. “We’re not very aggressive. We tend to react more than anticipate.

“You do that, you tend to lose a lot of 50-50 balls.”

In the second half, Kenai stepped it up but Soldotna as a team and goalie Ryan Queen in particular was up to the task. Queen preserved the shutout in the 78th minute when she bravely dove in front of Katie Johnson to snuff out a breakaway.

“She had a great game,” Siemers said of Queen. “We didn’t really have any threats on goal, and that’s because she was coming out and stopping a lot of our challenges.”

Siemers said midfielders Kate Wisnewski and Sarah Baisden got things going in the second half. He also liked the defense of Evelyn Cooper and the work at forward from Brynnen Hanson.

“The team that played right here could beat any team in Division II,” Love said. “That’s the problem — that kind of team consistency.

“But it’s a lot of work. You’ve got to put forth a lot of effort.”

Soldotna boys 2, Kenai 0

Once again, a penalty kick played a big role in this rivalry.

In late April, a penalty kick was the difference as SoHi topped Kenai 1-0 for third in the Kenai Invitational Cup. In SoHi’s 3-1 win in early May, both teams scored on penalty kick situations.

The difference in Thursday’s game came in the 49th minute, when Soldotna’s Lane Hillyer was fouled in the box. Simon Willets converted the penalty kick.

With Kenai pressing forward for the equalizer, Hillyer scored on a counterattack assist from Harold Rudstrom.

“It’s unfortunate,” SoHi head coach Erik Dolphin said. “I think every time we’ve played in the last three years, there’s been a penalty in the game one way or the other. Sometimes it’s against us, sometimes it’s against them.

“It’s part of the game. You’ve got to play through it. But I like games to be decided on the run of play.”

The penalty kick goal would be enough for a defensive effort backed by goalie Luke Hillyer and center defender Liam Peck.

Dolphin said the midfield work of Trae Pitsch, Willets and Daniel Heath also had a lot to do with keeping Kenai scoreless.

The best chance for the Kardinals came in the 64th minute, when Enrique Mercado cracked a laser from the top of the box that had Hillyer beat, but grazed the side of the post for a goal kick.

“It’s always hard, especially against Kenai, to go get three wins in the season against them,” Dolphin said. “They played tough, and they’re talented.”

Kenai head coach Shane Lopez said he was proud of his team.

“I thought we played a really good game,” he said. “The only thing that separated us was a PK.

“The last goal, we’ve thrown everybody forward because it’s like a minute and a half left, so we’re out of position.”

In the 78th minute, Kenai keeper Bradley Morrison had kept the Kards alive with an incredible sequence.

SoHi’s Owen Buckbee cut loose with a long throw-in and the Stars put three successive headers on net, with Morrison tapping out each one.

“We won a lot of 50-50 balls,” Lopez said. “We controlled a lot of the midfield. We just didn’t get the goal. They’re good. Their goalkeeper’s good. He made a couple of great saves.”

Lopez gave credit to Ben Harris and Gavin Liles for strong games on defense, and Zane James for creating chances in the midfield.

Friday, Soldotna concludes its regular season by hosting Houston, with the girls at 5 p.m. and boys at 7 p.m. Saturday, Kenai hosts Palmer, with the girls at 1:30 p.m. and boys at 3:30 p.m.

Homer girls 6, Houston 0

The host Mariners moved to 3-7-1 overall with the Thursday nonconference victory. Maya Diaz had the shutout for Homer.

Ruby Hill netted a hat trick for the Mariners, while Katelyn Marroquin scored twice and Channing Lowney had a goal.

The girls wrap up their regular season Friday against Palmer at 5 p.m.

Homer boys 4, Houston 0

The Mariners are 6-5-1 overall after defeating the Hawks Thursday in nonconference play. Gabriel Bradshaw had the shutout.

Kai Waltenbaugh, Spencer Dye, Reid Rauch and Espen Hennick scored for Homer.

Mariners head coach Tyler Jeffres said in the text message that getting to celebrate the seniors was special. The seniors are Hennick, Michael Reutov, Kaiden Bogie, Walden Kraseski, Rocco Flora, Dye and Isaiah Talcott.

The boys wrap up their regular season Friday against Palmer at 7 p.m.