Prep boys soccer: Moose endure tough state tournament

ANCHORAGE - The Palmer Moose played nearly four total hours of soccer during the ASAA state tournament.

And that's in just two games.

After allowing the game-winning goal with 1 minute and 56 seconds left in the final sudden death overtime in a 2-1 loss to Wasilla on the first day of the tournament, the Moose suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to Dimond the following morning.

The Moose played 228 minutes and 56 seconds worth of soccer within an 18-hour span in the tournament, but Palmer head coach Tom Harrison said the 0-2 mark of the Moose in the tourney can't be pegged squarely on fatigue.

&#8220Our worst problem in the tournament was ourselves,” Harrison said.

Like in its loss to Wasilla, the Moose took an early 1-0 lead in their loss to Dimond. Senior Ben Beetch fed Devon Conroy with a pass, and Conroy put the ball in the net during the 15th minute to give the Moose the advantage.

Late in the first half, the Lynx tied the score at 1-1. Early in the second, Dimond put itself up by a goal.

Beetch tied the score for Palmer late in the second half, with a goal off a direct kick. Beetch normally does not take the direct kicks for Palmer, but he told Harrison he figured out a way to beat the Dimond goalie.

&#8220Beetch saw that the keeper wasn't doing a very good job of guarding the far post,” Harrison said. &#8220It made me wonder why I didn't have him taking kicks all season long.”

Beetch was the lone representative from Palmer on the all-tournament squad. Colony's Bryan Tomlinson and Wasilla's John Pahkala also made the team.

South Anchorage won the state title for the second season in a row. After beating Colony in the title game last year, the Wolverines used a 3-2 win over Juneau-Douglas to claim consecutive titles.

West Anchorage edged Wasilla 1-0 to claim third place in the tourney. The Warriors placed in the tourney for just the second tine in the history of the program.

Colony, the fourth-place squad in the state, proved to be the smartest group of the bunch. The Knights, sporting a 3.45 cumulative grade point average, won the team academic award.