Freshman leads Wasilla girls to win over Moose

WASILLA — The rich just got richer.

Wasilla, which graduated only four seniors from a squad that captured the Northern Lights Conference title last spring, is getting a boost from its freshman class. Freshman Reese Sande scored five goals to lead the Warriors to a 9-0 win over Palmer, in the NLC opener for both teams, Tuesday night at Palmer High.

In her NLC debut, Sande notched a hat trick during a six-minute span of the first half, and added a pair of goals in the second half to help Wasilla improve to 1-1 overall.

“Her speed, her instincts,” Wasilla head coach Patrick O’Neill said of what stands out about his young striker. “He’s a pure goal-scorer all the way through. She can play midfield, but she’s a pure striker.

“Breakaway speed. She’s got that killer instinct, a nose for the net you need.”

Sande gave Wasilla a 2-0 lead with a goal during the 17th minute. Three minutes later Sande struck again, and the freshman notched her first career hat trick with a goal during the 26th minute. Sande added goals in the 43rd and 65th minutes.

Abby Crawford added a pair of goals in the win, and Ally Hull and Emily Summer also scored for the Warriors. Hull, Alia Donley and Alexis Friesen finished with two assists each.

“We wanted to really work on possessing the ball, working it around, use our teammates, use our skill,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill said the Warriors hit the turf with a game plan to utilize their three forwards.

“The idea of the three-forward system, for at least this game, is to get those forwards in the box, get the through balls and work the ball around,” O’Neill said. “Put the pressure on them. That’s kind of how it worked out.”

O’Neill said Wasilla was able to use its three forwards and three midfielders to attack.

“Our front six are really offensive-minded,” O’Neill said. “Our three mids and three forwards are all interchangeable. The idea is we’re always going to have a strong group. The whole idea of the three forwards is to put a lot of pressure on their defense, and not give them a lot of time to breathe.”

Olivia Matson and Maclaren Obremski combined for the shutout in the Wasilla net.

Palmer 1, Wasilla 1

Palmer and Wasilla played to a 1-1 boys’ soccer draw Tuesday night at Palmer High School.

Thomas Youngblood scored in the second half to tie the game for the Moose. Wasilla recorded its goal in the first half.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.