Kenai boys get past Colony in NLC title match

PALMER — With his team locked in a 1-1 tie, Kenai head coach Joel Reemtsma suddenly found the need to correct himself during his halftime speech to his team.

“What’s funny, when we went in to talk to the guys at halftime, I said hey it’s even. They scored a fluky goal. We scored a flukly goal,” Reemtsma said.

The Kenai goal in question was a rocket off the foot of Kardinals senior Maxwell Dye. A laser of a free kick lifted from at least 45 yards out on the right side of the turf and tucked right underneath the far corner of the net during the 23rd minute.

“Max gets upset. The fact is, he’s done that probably five times this season,” Reemtsma said. “I said, you know you’re right. I’ll do my push ups. It’s not a fluky goal.”

As it turned out the Dye goal helped Kenai push its way another Northern Lights Conference crown.

Dye’s goal was the first of three unanswered scores that helped the Kards earn their second straight region title with a 3-1 win over Colony in the Northern Lights Conference Championships boys’ title game Saturday afternoon at Colony High School.

Zack Tuttle added a pair of second-half goals, including a pivotal goal off a header in the 74th minute. On another free kick, the Kards put the ball in the box. Tuttle was there, knocked a header off the crossbar. The junior managed to hold position on the right side, and tap another header into the net.

“Big moments. He’s a clutch player,” Reemtsma said. “He’s been doing it for three years.”

Tuttle also broke the tie with a goal in the 50th minute. The junior followed a ball into the box. Colony goalkeeper Quinn Larson tried to slide to make the save, but Tuttle was there to knock it in.

Reemtsma said even after Tuttle gave Kenai the 2-1 lead, the Kards knew the last thing they should do is slow down.

“We’re definitely not ready to pack it in after the second goal,” Reemtsma said. “We were definitely worried about the counter attack, the potential Colony had. They’re very intelligent moving the ball. The way we were playing, they knew how to hit as back as soon as we were out of position.”

Colony sophomore Noah Krozel gave the Knights the early lead, popping in a header during the fifth minute. Reemtsma said he felt his team settled in once Dye was able to tie the score 18 minutes later.

“It definitely calmed some nerves,” Reemtsma said. “We knew coming into this game, we knew we were going to score. We knew we were going to get on the board. But it was nice to calm us down a little bit.”

Saturday marked Kenai’s third straight meeting against Colony in the NLC final and second straight victory.

“It’s a rivalry,” Reemtsma said. “They are well-coached. They’ve got some great players. It’s always a challenge. It was a battle. We knew they’d be tough.”

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