Knights grab wins in the wind

PALMER — With a soccer career as a player and coach that spans nearly three decades in the Palmer area, Jeremy Johnson is well-versed when it comes to the Valley winds.

But the gusts that blew through Colony High School’s Pride Field Tuesday night were unlike anything the Colony Knights boys’ and girls’ head coach has dealt with.

“It’s the worst wind I’ve ever seen in a soccer game,” Johnson said of the weather during Colony’s 3-0 boys’ victory over the rival Wasilla Warriors.

Noah Krozel scored a pair of wind-aided goals in the second half, and Kyle Dearborn notched a first-half goal as the Knights improved to 3-0-0 in Railbelt Conference play. Johnson said staking the 1-0 lead in the first half as the Knights played into the wind was a big accomplishment for his team in the match.

“We played the ball on the ground, tried to control possession,” Johnson said. “We talked about it before the match.”

Caleb Covington set up Colony’s first score, slotting a through ball about 15 years to Dearborn, who bounced a ball of the post into the net.

“It was a perfectly placed pass and run,” Johnson said.

In the second half, Colony played with the wind, but it was still difficult, Johnson said.

“It was awful,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he felt his Knights were able to control play in the second half, partly because Wasilla was tasked with playing against such strong winds in the second half.

“Going into it was almost impossible,” Johnson said.

Krozel pushed Colony’s lead to 3-0 with a pair of second half goals. Krozel ripped a shot on goal that was tucked right underneath the crossbar. He also sent a corner kick from the left side, that curled into the net, with some help from the wind.

Colony girls get past Warriors

Heavy winds continued to blow as the Colony and Wasilla girls hit the turf following the varsity boys’ game, but Wasilla head coach Patrick O’Neill said weather was not the reason his Warriors suffered a 2-0 loss to Colony.

“They outplayed us,” O’Neill said. “They’re physical play, aggressiveness toward the ball dictated the play.”

Bella Brown scored a pair of goals to help Colony improve to 3-0-0 in Railbelt Conference play. Wasilla, which allowed multiple goals in a match for the first time this season, dropped to 2-1-0 in conference.

Johnson called his team’s performance a blue collar effort.

“We played kind of a gritty game,” Johnson said. “Good job working hard.”

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