Houston girls find victory in loss to Nikiski

HOUSTON — Sometimes victories can come in a loss.

Houston sophomore Paige Warner scored during the 73rd minute of a 5-1 loss to Nikiski Friday, marking the Hawks’ first goal since the 2008 season.

“We were all pretty excited,” Houston coach Wendy Dodge said.

Trailing 5-0 late in regulation, the Hawks sent a ball deep into their offensive third. Wagner was able to catch up and sent a hard strike into the lower right side of the net.

Not only did Houston go winless last year, but the Hawks were also held without a goal during the 2009 season.

Senior Hillary Bogard scored twice to help the Bulldogs improve to 2-0 this season. Freshman Logan Tuttle, sophomore Dyann Wick and junior Brittany Tuttle also scored for Nikiski.

Nikiski head coach Mandy Adair was pleased with the match, especially since the Bulldogs had spent almost no time on an outside field this spring.

“It’s only the second day we were really playing on a full field outside,” Adair said.

Logan Tuttle and Bogard scored during the first 10 minutes of play to give the Bulldogs the early lead. Bogard added to that advantage when she snuck inside the penalty box and got a clear look at the Houston net. Bogard fired the shot past the Houston keeper during the 17th minute to give the Bulldogs the 3-0 lead.

Four of Nikiski’s five goals came in the first half.

“Overall, the defense and offense came together and we started to play as one unit,” Adair said. “It’s kind of cool to see the girls figure that out on their own and play in a big open space.”

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