Grudge match goes to Palmer

April 29, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - By the end of the Wasilla girls soccer squad's visit to Palmer Wednesday afternoon, both teams were in the same condition - worn out and ragged.

But the Moose were enjoying a boost of adrenaline.

Palmer coach Brian Fish said the Northern Lights Conference rivalry is always a hard-fought matchup.

"It's a crazy game," Fish said after the Moose scored a 2-1 victory on Machetanz Field. "That's what we expected. It's always going to be a tough game against them."

Physical defensive play dominated the action, but both teams managed to keep things clean, as there were no cards issued.

"It was just a function of the girls playing hard." Fish said. "That's just the nature of the game."

Perhaps no Moose player worked harder than forward Joann Spannagel.

After a scoreless first half, it was going to take a great shot to determine the outcome. And the Palmer junior delivered that great shot, changing the momentum and complexion of the game.

Midway through the second half, Spannagel turned and drilled a shot from 30 yards out on the right side of the penalty area. Her laser attempt to the far corner gave the Moose a shot in the arm after they withstood a flurry of attacks from the Warriors.

"We needed a goal, so I put it in the goal," said Spannagel, making scoring sound easy. "It was getting really intense, and we needed some shots because their defense was frustrating us."

"That was a great shot," Fish said. "That was just a great individual effort that turned the game in our favor. You could tell the more that game went on that it was going to be one player getting free that would be the difference. It really turned the momentum for us."

Spannagel took advantage of a loose ball in front of the net in the 73rd minute, punching it into the net with her right foot for her second goal.

The goal was just enough.

Wasilla regrouped and took control of the action for the last seven minutes, finally scoring in the latter moments of play.

Sophomore midfielder Nicole Duque wiped out the shutout with a blast from 15-yards out just before the final whistle sounded.

"After playing to a 2-2 tie last time, this is a real confidence builder," Fish said. "We might have to play them again."