Early goal helps Kenai move past Palmer

PALMER — After playing to a scoreless tie less than a week ago, the Palmer Moose and Kenai Kardinals knew the first goal of the game would probably matter most.

And in the 16th minute, Kenai got the goal that sparked the Kards and deflated the Moose.

Shelby Toombs converted an early penalty kick to help Kenai earn a 3-0 win over the Palmer Moose during the Northern Lights Conference quarterfinals at Palmer High School on Thursday.

“It was good to get that monkey off our back,” Verkuilen said after the win, which moves Kenai into a semifinal match with top-seeded Colony today at 3 p.m. at Colony High School. “It gives you that little spark, and you’re like, the net doesn’t have a glass wall in front of it.”

Annie Azzara and Raquel Reynolds also found the back of the net for the Kardinals in the win.

After the Moose loss, Palmer head coach Harmony Chadwick said the Toombs penalty kick was certainly hard to overcome. Verkuilen said it was key for Toombs to convert that penalty kick and take the 1-0 lead during the 16th minute.

“We knew we’ve been kind of frustrated by the lack of scoring. We had a lot of opportunities. We had quite a few opportunities the last time we played (Palmer),” Verkuilen said. “We just could not find the back of the net.”

Verkuilen said Kenai expected a similar game to the scoreless tie, but the Kards know anything can happen in the tournament.

“Regional games are funny. You see them a week ago and you come to regions and it’s a whole different deal,” Verkuilen said.

After taking the 1-0 lead, Kenai needed only six more minutes to push the advantage to a pair of goals. The Kenai midfielders fed a ball forward to Azzara, who used her left foot to put a shot past Palmer goalkeeper Morgan Morfe.

Late in the game, Reynolds capped the scoring thanks to a play set up by a Caitlin Wooley cross.

Coming up the right side of the field, Wooley crossed the ball. Jenna Callhoun deflected the ball to the far post, where Reynolds was able to crash and score.

Verkuilen said teamwork was key in the win.

“It was a lot of individual effort the first time we played them, but today it was much more of a team effort,” Verkuilen said.

Sidney Taylor earned the shutout in the Kenai goal.

“The defense was real solid,” said Verkuilen, who also credited the work Taylor Ostrander and Allie McGahan in the midfield.

While Kenai moves on, Palmer, the third seed in the North Division, was forced to see its season come to an end on the first day of the three-day NLC Championships. Palmer head coach Harmony Chadwick said seeing her two seniors, Kendal Venzke and Megan Stark, play their last game is the hardest part of the loss.

“The thought of them not making it through is what I’m most bummed about,” Chadwick said. “They don’t have another game. They deserve another game.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.