2016 PREP BOYS SOCCER PREVIEW

PALMER — As Jason Rice leads his team, the Palmer head coach is looking at the big picture.

The Moose are young. Very young. Palmer also shares a division of the Northern Lights Conference with perennial NLC powers Colony and Wasilla. Rice sees each of Palmer’s primary rivals as programs known for specific traits.

“The skill set of Colony and the toughness of Wasilla,” Rice said earlier this week.

Those are the standards set by two programs always in the hunt for the conference crown. Knowing that, Rice is working to build a program and help the young Moose talent carve its own place among the NLC elite. The Moose can currently start as many as eight underclassman on any given night. But Rice immediately looks toward the positive.

“It puts us in good position for the years to come,” Rice said.

And as the Moose prepare for the future, getting these young players experience is paramount in the Palmer game plan.

Rice said players such as freshman striker Isaiah Montoya, “a natural talent,” according to the Moose head coach, are the building blocks. Other examples include sophomore strikers Blake Cooper and Manveer Singh.

Palmer does have a handful of veterans to help usher the program into hits future. Junior Johnie Burton is Palmer’s field captain at the center midfield position. Ben Swalling mans the sweeper position, and is the captain on defense. The Moose have another strong presence with senior Noah Richards in the center backfield.

Palmer also has another senior, Darren Fish, a Palmer hockey standout who earned conference player of the year honors on the ice earlier this year. Fish has long ties to soccer, but had focused on hockey for much of his prep career.

Leading Palmer’s senior class is goalkeeper Brandon Banks. Rice said he believes Banks should be recognized among the best keepers in the state.

The Palmer coaching staff is working to build a strong soccer program for the future, but Rice said the Moose are not looking past the present.

“We’re starting slow out of the gates, but if we can begin to get some momentum, this is a team that can go far,” Rice said.

Colony Knights

Colony, the defending NLC champions and a squad that won a state title two years ago, is also young.

“We’ve got a ton of freshmen,” longtime Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said recently.

Graduation may have impacted the Knights in certain positions, but Colony returns its top two leading scorers from a year ago. Ben Sande, the 2015 NLC Player of the Year, and Cameron Shaw are both back. Alex Valdez, another offensive threat, also returns.

“Those guys make a big difference,” Johnson said.

That veteran group will be aided by a pair of freshmen starting — left midfielder Kyle Dearborn and center mindfielder Noah Krozel.

Another key veteran on defense is Josh Spannagel.

Wasilla Warriors

The 2016 season marks the start of a new program for Wasilla boys soccer.

After years as head coach of the program, former head coach Blake Livingston stepped away from the high school game for the 2015 season. Danny Kilanowski has taken the reins of the team.

“We have a solid core of players with a strength in depth,” Kilanowski said in an email earlier this week.

Captain Kyle Broach, a midfielder, is among the veteran leaders on the squad. That group also includes goalkeeper Nikita Antonov.

Kilanowski said Wasilla sports a pair of strong center backs, seniors Nazar Pavlus and Logan Wagner. Senior Tim Voloshin boasts speed up front. Freshman midfielder Augustine Mendoza is a young player with great potential, Kilanowski said. The Warriors also have freshman Villi Savchuk, who can add speed up front alongside Voloshin.

“Our aim is to play controlled skillful soccer and improve our team play an understanding,” Kilanowski said. “Our wish is compete well at regions and qualify for the state championships.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.