Prep boys soccer preview

MAT-SU -If the first week of the prep boys soccer season is any indication, there are going to be some battles this year in the Mat-Su Valley.

So far in two all-Valley games, there has been just one goal scored.

Palmer topped Wasilla 1-0 in the season opener. Three days later Colony and Wasilla played to a scoreless tie.

&#8220I think the Valley is going to be pretty tough,” Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said after the Knights tied Wasilla. &#8220Hopefully we can sweep those top three spots at the region tournament.

Last year Colony finished as the Northern Lights Conference runner-up, and earned a spot in the state championship game. Palmer knocked off Wasilla in the third-place game to advance to state.

The Knights boast one of the strongest teams in the state, with 14 seniors and 13 returning lettermen. Colony returns strength and depth at virtually all of the positions on the field. Among the veterans returning are senior Austin Manelick on defense, senior Bryan Tomlinson up front, junior sweeper Joe Heimerl and senior goalkeeper Ian Walton.

Walton is returning to the net after playing the last two seasons on Colony's front line. With the losses of keepers Jake Williams and George Percak-Dennett, Walton returns to the position for the first time since his freshman campaign.

&#8220Ian's great. He won us a region championship as a freshman,” Johnson said.

Williams was the Knights' starting goalkeeper last year, but was a senior. Percak-Dennett, a promising keeper, opted to run track this year.

&#8220For the last two years we had Jake, and I planned to go to George this year. It kind of fell into Ian's lap (this year), and he took it head on,” Johnson said. &#8220I'm glad to have a solid guy.”

Johnson is happy to be able to fall back on a keeper who has seen success at the level. But by putting Walton in net, he is losing an offensive punch up front. Now Johnson's biggest void are the holes left by Walton and fellow striker Teemu Maki, who also graduated last year.

&#8220Putting Ian in goal, and Teemu, we lost about 21 goals there - not to mention the assists,” Johnson said.

So now, Colony's biggest goal is to find some other players to score some goals. Tomlinson, and forwards Gerald Miller and Kole Rappuhn could fill that scoring void.

The Knights should be strong, but Johnson said the team to watch out for this year is Palmer.

&#8220If I had to pick a team, I'd say Palmer's the team to beat,” Johnson said. &#8220I think they made a lot of strides toward the end of last season, and looked really good in the offseason.”

Palmer head coach Tom Harrison feels his squad has the potential to do what it did last year - peak in the postseason. The Moose also boast a solid group of veteran players led by Jared and Trent Berberich.

The Berberich twins will be Palmer's leaders on the defense side of the field. Jared is the Moose sweeper and Trent is the Palmer keeper.

On the offensive end, Palmer is led by seniors Devon Conroy and Ben Beetch.

Conroy led the Moose in scoring last year, tallying 14 goals. That total was one shy of the school record. Harrison said Beetch is probably Palmer's strongest all-around player.

Other players that should make an impact, Harrison said, are seniors Peter Burton and Sam Hard.

Harrison said he feels there is a variety of players who can put the ball in the net for Palmer.

Wasilla has a fairly young squad, but is also expected to be tough.

Head coach Blake Livingston said senior sweeper Zach Bennett, senior keeper Joe Hunner and junior striker Jordan Ingalls will play key roles in the Wasilla's success this year.

The Warriors have the reputation of being a solid defensive squad. Part of that was the presence of sweeper Robbie Champion, who graduated after that season. Livingston said he will look to Bennett to do some of the things Champion did during his career.

While their defensive play is solid, Livingston said his team should be able to show some different looks this year.

&#8220We feel like we can change our style a little bit,” Livingston said. &#8220A little more possession, little more combination play. With experience it will come.”

Ingalls will play a big role in Wasilla's effort to put more pressure on the opposing defenses.

&#8220We try to go to him quite a bit,” Livingston said. &#8220He was one of our studs last year.”