Knights use OT thriller to win fourth boys soccer state title in school history

ANCHORAGE — Colony High School's boys soccer team won the Division 1 State Championship after an intense game with South High School that went into overtime.

"It was great. I'm just ecstatic," Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said.

Colony and South faced off at West High School Saturday, May 27. The opposing teams fought tooth and nail for the entirety of the match, never letting their guard down.

Colony ultimately secured their victory with a 2-1 win in overtime. Johnson said it was a fitting end of the season since South proved to be their biggest opposition this year. He said it was an extremely exciting game and both teams performed extremely well.

"We knew this was going to be a battle," Johnson said.

According to Johnson, this is Colony's fourth state championship victory. The last one was in 2019.

Zac Cheyette scored the winning goal during overtime. He said that he's been playing soccer since he was 2 years old and helping his team and his school achieve this major milestone was a lifelong dream come true.

"Nobody will be able to take that away," Cheyette said. "We are now part of Colony history."

Cheyette said that everyone on the team has a close bond with each other and they all share a common love of the sport. He said they all take pride in giving everything they have for the team.

"We love each other," Cheyette said. "We are able to create our own happiness based on our hard work."

Colony, the top seed in the Division I boys bracket, opened the 2023 state tournament with a 4-0 win over Chugiak and followed with a 3-2 victory over fifth-seeded West in the semis.

Colony also won the sportsmanship award during this year's tournament. Johnson said that he was incredibly proud of the student athletes and their performance was "all heart."

"These guys worked hard all season long," Johnson said. "They've been dedicated since day one."

In other state tournament action, Palmer placed fifth in the Division II boys bracket after a 2-0 loss to Ketchikan. The Moose opened with a 3-2 win over North Pole, but Soldotna edged Palmer 2-1 in the semis.

Wasila finished 1-2-0 overall in the Division I girls tournament. Holly Marsh scored a goal for the Warriors. The win was sandwiched between losses to South Anchorage and Service. Victoria Schachle was named all-tourney for the Warriors.

Houston was 0-2-0 in the Division II state tournament, falling to Soldotna and Grace Christian.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com