Prep soccer

ANCHORAGE - Soldotna didnt get a single shot at goal inside the 18-yard box in the Wasilla girls 2-0 win Friday morning at the Anchorage Football Stadium.

Thats why it was such an easy, pleasing shutout for coach Tony Jenson.

The 18-yard box is the bigger of two marked boxes in front of a soccer goal. It is the farthest out a goalkeeper can go and still touch the ball with hands.

It is 54 feet from the goal.

Thats a significant distance to be shooting, Jenson said. Taking shots beyond the 18-yard box makes the goalies job that much easier.

The defense took away the opportunity to score without Lesa (Starr, the goalie) needing to make any great saves.

She did make a few stops in the match, which puts the Warriors at 1-1 on the season.

They opened the season with a 1-0 loss to Kenai Thursday, also at the Anchorage field. Palmer, Wasilla, Kenai and Soldotna were to play Thursday and Friday in Mat-Su, with the visiting teams rotating between the two local teams.

But the fields were unplayable, and the Anchorage field was available until 2 p.m. each day. That meant the matches had to get under way by 8 a.m. to get all four in.

Weather permitting, Wasilla hosts Houston this afternoon and Palmer is at Heritage.

Wasilla girls

Kali Pettijohn scored the first goal against Soldotna and Christie Hayes added a second goal on a penalty kick. Soldotna had been called for pushing to set up that penalty.

Jenson thinks Starr would have been up to the challenge had Soldotna been able to muster a serious threat. But the Stars were kept at bay.

Our goalie didnt have a really true shot at her, Jenson said.

He mentioned a pair of players as putting in a good game against the Stars. One was Nichole Savoie, a mid-fielder who controlled the pace of the game. The other was Emilie Ebenal, who got the assist on Pettijohns goal.

The Kenai Kardinals beat Wasilla 1-0 on Thursday.

The lone score came in the final minute of play.

Jenson thought his Warriors and the Kardinals were matched about perfectly even.

A 0-0 tie would have been a good way to end the game, he said. It was our first time on the field and their first time on a field, and it showed. We missed one wide-open opportunity to score. But, its the first game of the season.

Wasilla boys

After a 0-0 tie against the Stars on Friday, coach Blake Livingston had a comment similar to Jensons.

Its really early in the season, Livingston said.

He saw tremendous progress, just between a 1-0 victory Thursday against Kenai and Fridays match against Soldotna.

Were seeing the field better, and playing better on the outside, the coach said.

His goalie Cole Lund also was the beneficiary of few close shots at goal.

Thats where using the whole field is good, Livingston said.

We only have two games in, he added. We have a lot of work to do.

In Thursdays match, Wasillas Titus Gumley scored the lone goal with about seven minutes left in the match.

Palmer boys

Guido Moller and Brian Wheeler scored twice in a pair of victories by the Palmer boys.

Those two players and Maciek Sepielak scored in a 3-2 victory over Soldotna at the Anchorage Football Stadium. Kurtis Arcala, Wheeler and Moller scored goals in a 3-2 win over Kenai, also in Anchorage.

Palmer girls

Palmer beat Homer 1-0 Saturday at Homer, but details of the match were unavailable.

Markie Johnson and Tami Callison scored for the Palmer girls in a 2-0 victory over Soldotna Wednesday. Kenai beat the Moose 2-1, with Sara Sakis scoring for Palmer Thursday, at Anchorage.

Colony boys

In the first game to be played this season on any of the Valleys waterlogged fields, Service beat Colony boys 2-1 Saturday at Colony.

Sean McDowell scored for the Knights, enabling Colony to hold a 1-0 halftime lead. A goal after a free kick in the 71st minute won it for Service.

Colony girls

The Knights opened their season with a long road trip to Juneau-Douglas, where they beat the Crimson Bears 3-2 on Friday and tied 2-2 on Saturday.

Katie Rose, Grace Borland and Kelly Quinn scored goals for Colony in Fridays victory. On Saturday, the Knights got goals from Amber Tubbs and Rose. Juneau tied the match in the 66th minute. Tubbs score came on a rebound after a shot by Kalea Garrod.Photo: Wasillas Chris Cunningham (17) and a Soldotna player race to the ball.LEW PUMPHREY/Frontiersman.