Kards edge Wasilla girls in soccer semis; Colony boys win

PALMER — When the female Kenai Kardinals met the Wasilla Warriors during the regular season, 80 minutes of regulation failed to produce a winner. The Northern Lights Conference rivals walked off the turf with a 1-1 tie.

Fast forward to Friday.

After 80 minutes of regulation, the Kardinals and Warriors were once again locked in a 1-1 tie.

But there are no ties in the Northern Lights Conference Championships.

In the rematch, Kenai needed extra time and an unbelievable effort courtesy of forward Heidi Perkins to earn a 2-1 victory over the Warriors during the NLC semifinals at Palmer High School.

In the 96th minute, Perkins, blanketed by a Wasilla defender, moved just inside the right end of the penalty box, and blasted a hard strike just inside the far, left side, post to help push the Kards into the NLC title match for the second straight year.

“We were kind of waiting for that, get one on net that was a little bit away from the goalie,” Kenai head coach Dan Verkuilen said of the Perkins strike. “She hits it so hard. It’s hard to reel them in if it’s not right in your hands.”

Wasilla head coach Patrick O’Neill said it’s hard to deny the quality of the goal. O’Neill said he felt his Wasilla defender played Perkins nearly perfectly on the play, and Perkins placement of the shot made it incredibly difficult for just about any goalkeeper to stop.

“If you’ve got to lose, you want to lose on a goal like that,” O’Neill said.

Perkins scored both goals in the Kenai win. With the Kards trailing 1-0 at the break, Perkins needed only about 30 seconds of the second half to tie the score. During the first minute of the second half, Kenai’s Cori Holmes sent a diagonal cross from the left side to Perkins, who ripped a shot into the Warrior net.

“We had a 30-second breakdown, but otherwise played a great game,” O’Neill said.

The rivals have built a competitive NLC rivalry in recent seasons. The 2015 regular season meeting ended in a 1-1 tie. Last season, the Kards and Warriors saw each other three times. Kenai posted a 3-0 mark against Wasilla last year, but the greatest margin of victory was two goals. Kenai beat Wasilla 1-0 in the regular season, 2-1 in the NLC semifinals and 2-0 at the state tournament.

“Knowing (the Wasilla coach), an old Minnesota player just like myself, similar philosophies, trying to accelerate the kids, does a great job with them. They gave us all we could handle. It’s like a volleyball game with all the momentum swings,” said Verkuilen, who was named the NLC Girls Coach of the Year during a conference awards ceremony Friday.

Verkuilen said he felt both sides had their moments of control.

“There were times today we had good possession, moved the ball really good. There were times we got a little nervous, a little too touchy,” Verkuilen said.

O’Neill echoed Verkuilen’s sentiments.

“Obviously we’re disappointed. But it’s hard to feel bad when you played that well in that even of a matchup,” O’Neill said.

Ally Hull gave Wasilla the 1-0 lead late in the first half. During the 38th minute, Alexa Starr, the 2015 NLC Girls Player of the Year, fed Hull a pass from the left side of the field. Hull moved into the right side of the penalty box, beat a 1-on-1 play with the defender and fired a shot, low into the left side of the net.

“Wasilla’s a strong team. They’re a run away from scoring,” Verkuilen said. “When they put that first one in, we definitely knew we were capable of putting one in, but we knew it would be no easy road.”

With the win, Kenai will play rival Soldotna Saturday at 2 p.m. for the NLC girls’ title. It marks the second straight year Kenai and Soldotna have met in the Valley with a region title at state. Last year, Wasilla High hosted the NLC championships.

The teams have met twice this season. SoHi scored a 5-0 win over the Kards early, but Verkuilen said Kenai was missing multiple starters during that match. Soldotna and Kenai’s regular season region match ended in a scoreless tie.

“Both teams had chances in that game,” Verkuilen said of the tie against the Kards.

Kenai and Soldotna have taken different paths to the NLC title game. SoHi beat Palmer 10-1 on Thursday and Colony 3-0 in the NLC semifinals Friday morning. Thursday, Kenai netted the game-winner with about three minutes left in regulation to edge Grace Christian 2-1. Friday, the Kards played 100 minutes of soccer against Wasilla.

“They’re tough girls, they’re intelligent,” Verkuilen said of his players. “I always say the intelligent teams are usually the teams that move on. They’ll do the best to give what they got.”

Wasilla will also play a rival Saturday. The Warriors meet Colony Saturday at 10 a.m. in the bracket’s third-place game. Wasilla is 2-0 against CHS this season.

“The first thing I said after the game (Friday), we’re not done,” O’Neill said.

Colony boys blank Grace

PALMER — The Colony Knights boys soccer squad moved into the NLC title match with a 5-0 semifinal win over Grace Christian Friday after at Palmer High.

Ben Sande, who was named the NLC Boys Player of the Year Friday afternoon, scored twice in the victory. Jake Forstner, Austin Richardson and Cameron Shaw also scored. Harrison Menard led the Knights with two assists. Zach Zmuda earned the shutout in the Knights net.