Kardinals sweep Palmer soccer

Kenai girls 1, Palmer 0

The Kenai Kardinals controlled the pace of their game against the Palmer Moose and earned a 1-0 win Saturday at Kenai.

Junior Ericka Reynolds was able to get a touch off a corner kick at the 30th minute and the ball bounced off a Palmer defender to score the lone goal, according to Kenai coach Dan Verkuilen.

“It was good to get that goal, but we had a lot more chances than that,” Verkuilen said. “It was a lot like the Colony game (on Friday) in the fact that we really controlled the pace for the most part.”

The only difference was that Kenai managed to score, unlike the 0-0 draw they produced against the Knights on Friday.

The season-ending game leaves Kenai with a 6-2-2 record heading into the conference tournament next weekend.

“We just need to keep working on getting goals,” Verkuilen said. “It’s a matter of repetition and instinct. We’re getting a lot of good chances, but when it comes to the point of impact, they need to focus on knocking the ball in.”

Kenai boys 3, Palmer 0

The Kenai boys exploded offensively in the second half of their match against Palmer on Saturday at Kenai.

Described as a tight game in the first half by Kenai coach John Morton, TJ Wagoner put the Kards on the scoresheet with a goal two minutes into the second half. Wagoner scored again in the 55th minute, beating a Palmer defender and the goalkeeper.

“We were playing a pretty good game, and were able to just capitalize on misplayed balls,” Morton said.

Alex Springer knocked the ball in at the 75th minute to ice the game late.

Morton said Springer’s choice to begin the game facing the win turned out to be a good call.

“At the initial coin toss, (Springer) picked to defend, rather than start on offense and it turned out good,” Morton said. “We got those three goals going with the wind.”

Kenai ends their regular season with a 4-5-1 record, and now await the conference tournament.