Prep girls soccer preview: Warriors making strides

MAT-SU - The Wasilla girls soccer squad enjoyed a historic season last year.

During the regular season, the Warriors beat Colony for the first time in the history of the programs. In the postseason, Wasilla earned a spot in the region championship game for the first time.

Now the Warriors are hoping to take the momentum they built last year and use that to propel them into the state tournament for the second-straight year.

&#8220Last year we struggled to put things together at the beginning of the year, but were great at the end of the year,” Wasilla head coach Katie Broeder said. &#8220We had a lot of accomplishments as far as the season goes. We're hoping to achieve more of that.”

The Warriors are already off to a good start scoring a tie against Palmer and a win over Colony. Now the Warriors can say they beat the Knights two years in a two for the first time.

As Wasilla continues to build a winning girls soccer program for the first time in a long time, Broeder stressed the importance of her coaching staff. Broeder and assistants Wendy Dodge and Amber Craig all played prep soccer in the Valley. Craig played four years at the college level. Broeder said Dodge has built a strong junior varsity program, and Craig is putting her vast knowledge to use as a varsity assistant.

&#8220It's nice to have a varsity assistant,” Broeder said. &#8220Two different perspectives.”

From her perspective, Broeder said an overall strength for Wasilla will be speed.

&#8220Speed up front, speed in the back,” Broeder said.

Wasilla is a junior-heavy team led by the likes of Csesalie Lease, Britta Hanson and goalkeeper Dani Haley.

&#8220I think we have a pretty strong team,” Broeder said. &#8220Great chemistry, great attitude, great work ethic.”

While Wasilla (1-0-1) is continuing on what it built last year, Palmer (0-0-2) is still looking for its identity.

The Moose have played to a pair of tough 1-1 ties in their first two games, and longtime head coach Brian Fish said Palmer is still busy finding its stride.

The Moose have some holes to fill. But Palmer does boast a roster of well-rounded talent.

&#8220We lost a few players, but the nice thing about Palmer is we seem always have a good mix of classes,” Fish said. &#8220We're not really heavy in one area. We're pretty fortunate to have been that way for a while.”

What the Moose do know is they have a pair of seasoned veterans on defense. Seniors Katy Applin and Kelsey Pilch will be the leaders in front of the Palmer net.

&#8220Katy and Kelsey are a couple of seniors who bring some competitiveness to our defense,” Fish said.

Fish said players who should play a significant role in Palmer's offense are junior Arianna Cruz and sophomore Chelsea Beetch. Both have tallied goals for Palmer this year.

Senior Brooke Gardner is Palmer's starting goal-

keeper.

Colony (0-2-0), a traditional power in the Northern Lights Conference, has a roster full of young players this season. Eight of Colony's 15 varsity players are freshmen.

Knights head coach Lorie Miner said her team may be lacking in experience, but more than makes up for it with her players' desire to play, and willingness to work.

Leading the list of veterans is senior Megan Pfile, one of the top scoring forwards of the Valley, senior forward Chrysa Meaney, senior forward Megan Kenley and junior keeper Sydney Stoltenberg.

Contact sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at 352-2273, or sports@frontiersman.com.