Palmer boys up-end Knights

The Palmer Moose boys' soccer team opened its season Wednesday with an early test of strength against Valley rival Colony at Palmer High School.

A solid game plan with minor adjustments allowed the Moose to keep the game close then pull ahead late in the game to take a 2-1 win over the Knights.

"This team really came together earlier in the week," said Palmer coach Don Berberich. "They started looking like one of the best teams that I've seen."

The defense of both teams looked strong throughout most of the game. The defensive stalemate dominated play in the first half, giving offensive attackers few opportunities to score. Each team was able to penetrate the opponent's zone, but was then shut down by the defense with the ball going the other way.

"We started the game with four defensemen, four in midfield and two attackers because we don't have a lot of experienced players in defense," Berberich said. "Our emphasis was on defense. We worked on it all week."

The Knights were the first to eventually break through the scoreless deadlock near the end of the first half. Hannes Suebert found an opening in the Palmer defense and drilled a shot into the Palmer goal on a tough angle from the side. The goal gave Colony a 1-0 lead, which it held going into halftime.

The Knights had an opportunity to increase their lead early in the second half when a Palmer player was called for tripping inside the penalty box of the Palmer zone, giving Colony a penalty kick with Palmer goalkeeper Preston Carpenter the only thing standing between the ball and the goal. Carpenter denied Colony's golden opportunity, diving to his left and deflecting the shot for an outstanding save.

Both Carpenter and Colony goalkeeper Andrew Kowalczk played outstanding to keep the score low and their team in the game.

Despite being down by a goal, the save by Carpenter boosted the Moose confidence and shifted the momentum to the Palmer side.

Palmer's positioning for defense gave it few offensive capabilities in the first half, so Berberich adjusted the lines at halftime to move one of the midfield positions up front as an extra attacker.

The adjustment began to show with Palmer increasing pressure into the Colony zone with each attempt down the field.

The extra attacker paid off for Palmer mid way through the second half when Brian Henderson tied the game on a direct free kick in front of the Colony goal that was awarded after a Palmer player was knocked down in Colony's penalty box.

"I tried to bend it around the wall of players that Colony set up and get it high in the goal," Henderson said. "It worked."

With minutes remaining in the game, Palmer seized the lead on a header in front of the Colony goal by John Paul that bounced past Kowalczk for a goal. The shot was set up by a long kick from Henderson from the left sideline at mid-field. Paul ran under the booming shot and bounced it off his head for the goal.

"I just saw the kick and started running to get under it," Paul said. "I didn't know if I should go for the header at first, but I heard the coach yelling go, go, go - so I went for it."

The goal gave Palmer the 2-1 lead, which it held for the remainder of the game to take the victory over the rival Knights and start the season with a victory.

With the teams not scheduled for a rematch during the regular season, they may not face each other again until the region tournament May 17 and 18 in Soldotna.