Colony boys advance to state soccer final

ANCHORAGE — The Colony Knights knew they’d see one Northern Lights Conference foe in the state tournament. Colony didn’t expect a second.

A match against an NLC rival on the second straight day ended with the same result, and set up a fourth trip to the state championship game in program history. Colony used a Chris Olsen goal and Sean Haley shutout to edge Homer 1-0 during the ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships semifinals at Anchorage Football Stadium Friday afternoon.

Colony, which opened with a 1-0 win over Wasilla in the quarterfinals Thursday, will meet Dimond in the final, Saturday at 6 p.m. at AFS. Dimond posted 3-0 wins over Juneau-Douglas on Thursday and South Anchorage on Friday to reach the final.

Long before either team would punch its ticket to the state final, the Knights drew an unexpected match against Homer in the semis.

“I guess everybody was a little surprised that they were able to beat Service,” Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said of the Mariners, who upset Service 3-1 in the quarterfinals. “It’s an upset in terms of records, but we all know when you get to the state tournament, you play the right game, anything can happen.”

Colony captain Ben Atkinson seemed excited to see the Mariners.

“I definitely thought it was an upset,” Atkinson said of Homer’s quarterfinal win. “I’m glad to see Homer step up. It’s nice to have another (Northern Lights) conference team come in here in the semifinals, other than just the Anchorage teams. I’m impressed with how they played.”

Colony beat Homer 3-0 in Homer during the regular season. But the Knights have learned in the last two weeks that regular season wins don’t exactly mean easy games against the same foe during the postseason. During the regular season, Colony had its way with Kenai. But in the NLC semifinals, Colony needed overtime to edge the Kards 3-2. During the regular season, Colony posted a pair of three-goal victories over Wasilla. But in the NLC final, Wasilla upset Colony 2-1.

“It’s a good reminder,” Atkinson said. “Wasilla showed us up in the region title game. It helped us remember what the goal is.”

The goal, is a state title. Colony is 1-2 in three prior trips to the final. The Knights won their lone state championship, a 3-2 victory over Juneau-Douglas, in 2000. The Knights suffered losses to South Anchorage in the championship in 2005 and 2013. Atkinson said the Knights are ready to avenge a 3-0 championship to loss to South that Colony suffered last season.

“It feels good to have a chance to redeem ourselves from last year. Everyone is excited. So am I,” Atkinson said.

Following a scoreless first half, Colony needed only the first two minutes of the second half to put the first ball into the back of the net. Olsen knocked in a header set up by a Kyle Bolam corner kick from the right side during the 42nd minute to give the Knights the 1-0 lead.

Colony had numerous chances in the first half, but had to wait to get its first goal.

“We played with the ball a little too much (in the first half). We didn’t capitalize on chances,” Atkinson said. “Then Chris got that really sweet goal.”

Johnson saw those chances, but also noted Homer’s defensive play.

“Homer worked hard to defend. I felt like we created a lot of chances. They’re goalie made a few nice saves, and we missed a few,” Johnson said.