Prep boys soccer: Stars get their revenge against Wasilla

Frontiersman

SOLDOTNA — Something else besides the smell of fresh grass and was in the air on a sunny Saturday at Soldotna High School: Revenge.

“We’ve wanted this one since last year,” SoHi coach Jeff Siemers said following his team’s 3-1 win over the defending Northern Lights Conference champions.

Last season, the Warriors were the only team to beat the Stars before the state tournament, dropping SoHi three times on the season.

Like all three meetings last season, Saturday’s contest was a skilled, hard-fought affair between two of the top teams in the conference. But unlike last year, it was the Stars pushing the Warriors up and down the field, seeming to take the Warriors by surprise with their overall team speed.

“Basically we were pretty even as far as possession, but I think we struggled to adjust to their speed of play,” Wasilla coach Blake Livingston said.

Soldotna junior midfielder Anthony Griglione put the Stars up 1-0 just three minutes into the game when he headed home the Stars’ first corner kick of the game.

“Our set plays are coming together really good,” SoHi coach Jeff Siemers said.

Soldotna went up 2-0 at the 18-minute mark on the first of two goals by sophomore Blaine Carver, who was in the right place at the right time to put back a Kyle VanRyzin rebound.

Wasilla had a number of good chances in the first half, including close-range shots by midfielder Aaron Sharrow and striker Adam Friese midway through the half that forced SoHi goalie Dan Geller to make back-to-back diving saves.

But while Wasilla had chances, the story of the game was the Warriors’ inability to finish around the net.

“We couldn’t finish in the offensive third of the field,” Livingston said. “And the opportunities they had, especially their early opportunities, they took advantage of.”

Wasilla got a golden opportunity near the end of the first half when SoHi’s Matt Fellman was shown a red card for arguing with officials, leaving the Stars to play the rest of the game a man down.

But the Warriors couldn’t capitalize, even allowing the Stars to go up 3-0 when Carver put in a header of his own in the 54th minute to make it 3-0.

Wasilla’s Jimmy Sliwa finally got the Warriors on the board in the 73rd minute with a penalty shot after Sharrow earned a penalty kick with an Oscar-worthy dive inside the SoHi box.

But it was far too little for the Warriors, who finished their weekend road trip 1-1 after beating Kenai Central on Friday.

Livingston said the loss, while a disappointment, shows his team still has work to do before they can challenge for a repeat NLC title.

“It’s definitely an eye-opener,” he said.

Wasilla 4, Kenai 0

Harvey Finsh, Chad Cowan, Michael Lewis and Jimmy Sliwa each scored for Wasilla as the Warriors opened up a two-game Kenai Peninsula swing with a 4-0 shutout of Kenai Central Friday.

Contact Frontiersman sports reporter Matt Tunseth at matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.