Colony boys fall just short

CHUGIAK — Just short.

The Colony Knights were only one win shy of an undefeated season, one victory short of the program’s second state championship in school history. But ultimately the Knights fell just out of reach of both goals after a 3-0 loss to South Anchorage in the title game of the ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships at Chugiak High School Saturday.

South senior goalkeeper Griffin Toomey earned the shutout and senior Connor Gonzalez posted a pair of first-half goals to lead the Wolverines to their first state title since 2004 and fifth in school history.

Gonzalez scored during the 12th minute to give South the early lead. South scored all three of its goals during the first 38 minutes of play. Eyob Imlach also scored for South.

“That’s a pretty big hole to climb out of. I give the boys credit, they worked hard in the second half, but they just couldn’t break through today,” Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said after the loss.

Both teams needed overtime victories in the semifinals to move into the state title match. Colony beat West Anchorage 4-2 in extra time. South edged rival Dimond 2-1 in overtime Friday. Colony also needed overtime Thursday to beat Juneau-Douglas 2-1 in the quarterfinals. With that much soccer already under each team’s belt during the long weekend, Johnson said it was that much more important to strike early Saturday.

“The first goal was huge. That was going to be a big advantage, with both teams playing overtime games last night, and us the day before as well,” Johnson said.

Both teams had solid opportunities during the opening minutes, but South was able to cash in on its advantage.

During the 12th minute, Gonzalez took a cross from the left side of the field. From his position near the right side of the penalty box, Gonzalez tattooed a shot just inside the near post under Colony’s diving goalkeeper.

“We had a little mistake there on a clearing ball, didn’t clear it out. He drilled it. (It was) a great shot, low to the corner. Not much we could do about that one,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Colony fell short on its early prime opportunities. In the fourth minute, Jake Spannagel found the ball after a scramble just inside the goalie box. Not able to make solid contact, Spannagel pushed the shot just over the crossbar.

Toomey came up big in the South net with two big saves during the first 22 minutes. In the 19th minute, Harrison Menard put a hard shot on the upper half of the net, but Toomey used both of his hands to knock the ball back over the crossbar. In the 22nd minute, Blohm got inside the right side of the box and ripped a shot on net. Toomey had to make a diving save to prevent the score.

“Incredible saves. All credit to their goalkeeper, just a great job,” Johnson said.

Colony was in search of its second state title in its third trip to the championship game since ASAA sanctioned an official state tournament in 2000. The Knights beat Juneau-Douglas 3-2 to win its lone championship in 2000. South Anchorage edged Colony 2-1 in the 2005 title game.

Two of Colony’s opponents during the three-day tournament, Juneau and South, have combined to win eight of the last nine state titles, and 10 of the last 13.

Colony finished the season 19-1-1 with the loss. Last week, the Knights won their 10th Northern Lights Conference title since 1998.

Colony girls win award

The Colony girls squad, which finished fifth in the girls bracket, won the tournament’s academic award. The Knights boast a 3.90 team grade point average. Freshman Peyton Johnstone represented the Knights on the girls’ all-tournament team. Spannagel and senior Tanner Menard were named all-tourney for the Colony boys. Wasilla senior Kyler Perry and junior Cash McGregor were named boys’ all-tourney for the Warriors.

Contact Jeremiah Bartz at 352-2270

or sports@frontiersman.com.