Colony boys grab 3 late goals, victory over Wasilla

WASILLA — Early in the second half, Oleg Lozko entered the box, weaved through a batch of defenders, and put a hard strike into the back of the Colony net. It was a highlight-reel worthy goal for the Wasilla senior, and a game-tying score. But just as it appeared Wasilla was ready to reel in all of the momentum with the Lozko goal, Colony found a way to yank it right back.

Colony scored three times within a seven-minute span late in the second half, and scored a 5-2 Northern Lights Conference victory over the Warriors at Wasilla’s Veterans Memorial Field Tuesday.

“The whole game (Wasilla) played great, a really great game. They’re always a great opponent, but we knocked in the last two goals and it killed that momentum they built in the first half,” Colony senior captain Ben Atkinson said after the win.

Atkinson helped set up the first score of the three-goal stretch. The senior captain drove the ball up the left side of the field and sent a perfect cross to the far post. Both Kyle Bolam and Cameron Shaw were there to crash. Bolam got a foot on the ball, and gave the Knights the 3-2 lead during the 66th minute.

Three minutes later, Colony struck again. From just outside the box, Asher Dale sent a shot high into the net.

“We definitely picked it up in the second half,” Atkinson said.

Chris Olsen rounded out the scoring with a goal during the 73rd minute.

“Mainly because we ended the first half a little rough, we pushed it for us to finish out strong in the second half,” Atkinson said.

Wasilla took the first lead in the game, scoring in the 16th minute. The Warriors sent a pass from the right side of the field to Ethan Keenan, who beat both the last defender and the Colony goalkeeper en route to ripping a shot into the back of the net.

Colony’s Harrison Menard tied the game at 1 during the 21st minute, when the Knights sent a pass up the field, and Wasilla senior goalkeeper Kevin O’Laughlin came out to challenge. Menard, running alongside Wasilla’s last defender, was able to hurdle the diving O’Laughlin and maintain enough control to put a shot into the net.

Bolam gave Colony its first lead during the 27th minute, converting a penalty kick.

Atkinson said a key to the win was finding a way to beat O’Laughlin, Wasilla’s aggressive but effective goalkeeper.

“You’ve got to be aware of it,” Atkinson said. “He’s a great keeper, very aggressive keeper.”

Contact sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@fronteirsman.com.