Colony boys, Wasilla girls earn spots in NLC soccer finals

WASILLA — The Northern Lights Conference Championships boys’ soccer tournament has already been a roller-coaster ride for the Colony Knights, and there’s still a game left in the tournament.

But despite whatever twists and turns the Knights are dealt, Colony continues to find the way to win.

A day after sneaking in the game-winning goal during the final minute of regulation of a first-round victory over Homer, the Knights watched as Soldotna was awarded a penalty kick three times. But despite the extra opportunities for the opponent, the Knights prevailed again, scoring a 4-3 overtime win over the Stars during the NLC semifinals Friday afternoon in Kenai.

“I’ve never seen three penalty kicks called against the same team (in a match),” Johnson, Colony’s head coach since 1995, said by cellphone from Kenai.

Ben Sande scored in the first minute of overtime to help give Colony the win, and push the Knights into the conference championship match, where they will face host Kenai Saturday at 4 p.m.

Overall, Johnson said he’s thrilled with how his players positively responded to the adversity, and continued to trek forward.

“I’m really proud of the kids’ effort today. We aren’t deep. We don’t play a lot of guys. But they put in the work again,” Johnson said.

Another key, Soldotna was just 1 of 3 on penalty kicks.

“That was huge,” Johnson said.

SoHi converted its first penalty kick to take a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute. But Soldotna’s second penalty kick attempt, just prior to the half, was knocked off the crossbar. A third penalty kick in the 71st minute — which could have given SoHi a lead in regulation — was booted right into the grasp of Colony goalkeeper Chance Fannon.

SoHi took the 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, but Colony responded instantly. Alex Valdez kicked off his natural hat trick with a goal in the 10th minute to tie the game at 1. Johnson said the play started with a Soldotna corner kick. Colony’s Kyle Dearborn used a header to clear the ball off Colony’s goal line. Cameron Shaw sent a through ball up the field. Sande caught up to it, and sent a pass across to Valdez, who one-timed the ball into the SoHi net.

Valdez used two more quick strikes to push Colony’s lead to 3-1, scoring twice during a two-minute span. In the 16th minute, Noah Krozel sent a through ball ahead to set up a Valdez goal. In the next minute, Dearborn did the same to assist on the third Valdez goal within a seven-minute span.

Soldotna cut Colony’s lead to 3-2 during the 29th minute, and tied the score at 3 with a header off a corner kick in the 67th minute.

Saturday, Colony will face Kenai in the region title game for the second straight year. Colony beat Kenai in the 2015 title game. Kenai advanced Friday with a 7-2 win over Kodiak.

With the win Friday, Colony also earned a ticket to the state tournament.

“Yesterday it was win or go home. Today it’s win and qualify for state,” Johnson said. “We’re headed to state, now, we told them, it’s time to win some hardware.”

Wasilla girls earn semifinal win

The Wasilla girls scored an automatic bid to the state tournament and a spot in the NLC title game with a 3-1 win over Soldotna Friday in Kenai.

Alexis Friesen collected a goal and two assists to help Wasilla move into the title game, where the Warriors will face host Kenai Saturday at 2 p.m. Friesen provided the go-ahead score for the Warriors, booting in a 29-yard direct kick. Alia Donley and Jodie Richey also scored for the Warriors.

Kenai advanced with a 3-0 win over Colony.