Colony earns Skyview sweep

April 29, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH

Frontiersman

WASILLA - Colony scored two goals in a span of less than two minutes to turn a close game into an easy win Saturday at Colony.

The win pushed Colony's record to 3-2 on the season.

&#8220It's not 5-0, but we'll take it,” Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said following the game.

Colony led 1-0 after the first half courtesy of Cody Fritz's second goal of the season.

Colony controlled the run of play through most of the first half, and looked to be doing the same as the second began. But that changed when a foul in the box led to a Skyview penalty kick just five minutes into the second. Skyview's Erik Dolphin converted the penalty to tie things up and give Colony something to worry about.

But not much.

Colony's Bridger Van Ness nodded home a Logan Smith throw-in in the 58th minute to retake the lead, and Fritz added his second tally of the contest less than two minutes later to give the Knights some breathing room.

&#8220I felt like we were getting a lot of pressure, and eventually we'd get it into the net,” Johnson said.

Fritz nearly finished off a hat trick five minutes later, but his third goal of the game was disallowed when the referee blew the whistle because a Colony player was injured.

Despite only getting two goals, Fritz said he was happy with Saturday's result.

&#8220Lately we've started to become a team,” he said.

Fritz said that after Skyveiw tied the game, the team realized it needed to renew its focus in order to claim victory.

&#8220We stepped it up with the intensity,” he said.

Colony girls 3, Skyview 1

WASILLA - The Colony girls breathed a collective sigh of relief following Saturday's match-up against the visiting Skyview Panthers. After struggling to open the season, the Knights finally picked up their first win.

The Knights made a statement that they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in Northern Lights Conference play by dominating the Panthers throughout their 3-1 victory.

&#8220Things are looking much better,” Colony head coach Lorie Miner said following the game.

The Knights wasted no time getting on the board Saturday, going up 1-0 in just the sixth minute when midfielder Jessica Farrell found forward Jessica Short with a perfect cross that Short hammered past Skyview goalie Chantel Schefers.

Colony's high-scoring sophomore Tara Murray got into the act at the 20-minute mark when she charged Schefers and popped the ball over the Skyview goalie.

Murray was up to her usual tricks Saturday, creating numerous scoring chances on the left side.

&#8220Turbo just tore it up out there today,” Miner said, referring to her speedy striker.

In addition to good play up front, the Knights benefited from solid play in the midfield by Farrell and Katie Gonski, as well as solid defending on the back line by Emily Whitstine, Sydney Stoltenberg and Heidi Heimerl.

Colony capped its scoring with a perfect corner kick from Farrell that glanced off Schefers' fingers before finding the back of the net.

Colony's only hiccup came in stoppage time, when Skyview's Claudiii Sohns got loose on a breakaway and caught Colony freshman goalie Kaitlin Payne off her line to break up the shutout.

Despite giving up the goal, Miner said she's impressed with how Payne - a first-year keeper - is coming around.

&#8220She's getting better each game,” Miner said.

Miner said the win shows that her team is beginning figure things out as the season moves forward.

&#8220As a team, we're starting to find our niche,” Miner said.

The Colony coach, however, said she believes the Knights still have a ways to go before they're at full speed.

She said her team looked sluggish at times, and said she plans to work the squad extra hard in practice next week to reinforce the idea that the Knights will need to play hard from the opening kick-off in order to compete with the best teams in the conference.

&#8220I think we need to start the game with a little more intensity,” she said. &#8220We'll work on that.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

Colony girls 3, Skyview 1

Scoring: Colony- Short (6), Murray (20), Farrell (72).

Skyview- Sohns (80).

Cards: Colony- Heimerl (yellow)

Colony boys 3, Skyview 1

Scoring: Colony- Fritz (24), Van Ness (58), Fritz (60).

Skyview- Dolphin (45)

Cards: Colony- Jaruvongvanich (yellow)