Colony keeper stops WHS

Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE — For the last few years, the Colony Knights have had a pair of solid keepers — Elliott Gilbert and Jessie Krey — on the roster. But for some reason the rotation would send Gilbert to the net for most of the big matches, games against rivals such as Wasilla.

On Tuesday, Krey had his shot to stop the Warriors and the senior keeper led the Knights to a 3-0 shutout of Wasilla at The Dome in Anchorage.

“This was probably his first really big match,” Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said. “He’s played a lot in the last few years, but we relied on Elliott when it came to these matches. (Krey) really stepped up and proved his worth.”

Krey wasn’t forced to stop a ton of shots, but he was certainly tested. About seven minutes into a scoreless match, Krey made arguably his biggest save of the game, spurning Dustin Hout’s breakaway. Hout followed a ball into the Knights’ back half, shucked the defense and put a shot on net. Johnson said if Hout scored there, it could have changed the game.

“It was a huge play,” Johnson said of Krey’s save. “We were controlling play pretty well. We had chances on goal, but we weren’t finishing.”

Late in the first half, with the Knights leading 1-0, Wasilla junior Paul Sliwa ripped a shot from just inside the penalty arc. It was a low shot to the right side, but Krey was able to dive and get a hand on it. Later in the game, Hout sent in an arcing direct kick from 35 yards out, but Krey was able to make the save.

“Krey make three benchmark saves,” Johnson said of Krey, who, taking from hockey tradition, was named the team’s No. 1 Star after the win.

Senior Dylan Crawford and junior James Meaney led the Knights on the offensive end, posting a goal and an assist each.

Crawford knocked in a header of an Oliver Querin corner kick during the 14th minute to give the Knights the 1-0 lead. During the 42nd minute, Crawford set up Meaney’s goal with a corner kick of his own. Jesse Rouse capped the scoring during the 68th minute. With 12 minutes left in regulation, Meaney broke through the top of the box to create a 2-on-1. The junior drew the Wasilla defense and slipped a pass to Rouse, who settled the ball and smacked it into the net.

“I felt good,” Johnson said. “We played well.”

Johnson was particularly impressed with the work of his four outside midfielders — Crawford, junior Matt Kelly, and sophomores John Meaney and Sean Collette.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.