Late goals lift Knights

PALMER — The Colony Knights are showing a knack for scoring late.

Colony posted a pair of goals during a three-minute stretch of the final 10 minutes of regulation to grab a 2-1 win over Palmer at Colony High School on Friday.

“We pulled it together,” Colony senior co-captain Tara Murray said after notching the game-winner with seven minutes left in the match.

Murray, who scored twice during the final 10 minutes of a Northern Lights Conference win over Homer last week, sped up the right sidelines and sent a sharp shot into the far side of the Moose net during the 73rd minute to help CHS claim the key NLC North Division victory.

Murray’s score came just three minutes after junior Jessica Parker punched a short shot into the upper right corner of the Palmer net to tie the game at 1-1.

Senior co-captain Kara Larson said the scores were a result of the Knights simply utilizing their strengths.

“We really focused on playing our game,” Larson said. “Playing the possession.”

After Colony had a handful of early chances during the first 25 minutes, Palmer grabbed the momentum when senior Tess Anderson scored during the 27th minute to give the Moose the 1-0 lead.

“We always start out playing our game, then we play their game,” Colony junior co-captain Katie Gonski said. “Then we get back to our game.”

Colony head coach Lorie Miner said the Knights coaching staff has stressed the need to consistently stay within their style.

“We’d done such a great job during the first 20 minutes of playing team ball and not playing boot ball,” Miner said. “We maintained our composure, we were looking for passes, and then we got sucked into their game of boot and run.”

Palmer junior goalkeeper Chelsea Riley made a handful of solid saves during the first 25 minutes to keep the game scoreless.

During the 11th minute, Colony knocked a shot off the crossbar — and with Larson and junior Sara Kenley right there — Riley was able to able to grab the ball after it deflected off the bottom of the bar and to the ground directly in front of her.

In the 22nd minute, with Larson once again parked at the doorstep of the Palmer goal, Riley swatted a Jamie Krediet corner kick away to prevent another possible score.

“She’s been kind of a diamond in the rough,” Palmer head coach Brian Fish said of Riley. “She’s been great this year, stepping up and playing, really, a high pressure position. She’s just been amazing for us. That’s something we’re really happy about. Our goaltenders have really stepped up and played well.”

Palmer grabbed the lead when Anderson took the ball from the left sideline to the midfield, worked her way through the defense, made a slight adjustment on the ball and sent a strike into the upper shelf of the net, right beyond the finger tips of Colony goalkeeper Katelyn Payne.

“It’s great,” Fish said of Anderson’s individual effort to net the score. “That’s something we’re hoping to see more of from her and (junior) Shea Riggs in the middle. The both have a good touch on the ball and a good shot. They just need to get it off more often.”

Overall, Fish said he thought his team played well, but not well enough late in the match.

“It was probably about the last 15 to 20 minutes of the game when we started to fall apart a little bit,” Fish said. “We got a little chaotic at the end there. We kind of got out of our game plan when things weren’t going exactly like we wanted it to.

“Basically we just gave it away.”

Colony improved to 3-0-2 overall win the win and Palmer dropped to 5-3-0 with the loss.

Both teams have busy weeks ahead with three matches in five days.

Colony travels to Anchorage to face Grace Christian at Anchorage Football Stadium and Palmer heads to Wasilla to meet the Warriors on Tuesday.

Both squads will host Kenai and Soldotna during the upcoming weekend.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.