Rematches rule first round of state soccer tourney

WASILLA — Last weekend, the Wasilla Warriors and Colony Knights worked through the Northern Lights Conference tournament bracket to set up an all-Valley showdown. Sunday, a random draw set up a rematch.

Wasilla, which edged Colony 2-1 in the NLC title game last Saturday, will play the Knights in the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships, Thursday at 3 p.m. at Eagle River High School.

“It’s good and bad,” Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson said of the draw. “You never really want to have to play a team four times. But obviously, we’re coming in with a little bit of a chip on our shoulders since they beat us. It’s a mixed emotion sort of thing.”

Colony was 2-0 against Wasilla during the regular season, before falling 2-1 in the title game.

Johnson did say he appreciate his team’s chance to potentially play the only two teams that beat the Knights in 2014. Service and Homer share the top side of the boys’ bracket, setting up a possibility for Colony to see Service on the second day of the tourney.

“Either way, we could avenge our only two losses of the season,” Johnson said.

Service edged Colony 3-2 in Anchorage earlier this year.

Alaska School Activities Association adopted the use of a random draw to seed its state soccer brackets three years ago. This year, the random draw set up some intriguing possibilities. In the first round, every conference champion is facing either a conference champion or runner-up in the first round. Cook Inlet Conference champions Dimond and Southeast Conference champion Juneau-Douglas meet in the quarterfinals. Mid-Alaska Conference champion West Valley will take on CIC runner-up South Anchorage.

The top two teams from Anchorage, Dimond and South, could potentially meet on the second day. Both of the conference No. 3 seeds (CIC’s Service and NLC’s Homer) also meet in the quarterfinals. In seeded brackets, a conference No. 3 seed was assured of seeing a conference champion in the first round.

The Valley’s lone team in the girls bracket, Wasilla, also has a rematch in the first round. The Warriors face NLC rival Kenai in the quarterfinals, Thursday at 5 p.m. at Eagle River.

It will mark the third meeting of the season between the rivals. Kenai edged Wasilla 1-0 in Kenai during the regular season, and 2-1 in the NLC semifinals last Friday at Wasilla High. Wasilla head coach Patrick O’Neill said he’s excited about his team’s draw.

“It was kind of a shocker when I first saw it. I’m thinking the third time’s got to be the charm, hopefully it’s the charm,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill said he believes his Warriors match up well against the Kards, and squad that now owns a pair of one-goal wins over WHS this season.

“The first game they beat us off a corner kick with 30 seconds left. The second game we outshot them 22-4, but lost 2-1. I’m feeling pretty good about our chances.”

CIC runner-up Dimond and Service, the CIC No. 3 seed, share the bottom side of the bracket with Wasilla and Kenai.

Like the boys bracket, the random draw presents some interesting scenarios on the girls side as well. All four conference champions are on the top side of the girls bracket. NLC champion Soldotna plays MAC champion Lathrop. SE champion Thunder Mountain meets CIC champion South Anchorage in the quarterfinals.

O’Neill and the Warriors are not minding the fact all four No. 1 seeds are on the other side of the bracket.

“When they insisted on the random draw, there’s a chance that could happen. We feel pretty good. Get by Kenai, and make it into the semifinals would be a huge thing for our program,” O’Neill said.

Regardless, with all four No. 1s on the top side, O’Neill said there could be an unexpected matchup in the championship final.

“Those things are out of control. You’ve just got to play. But someone who was probably not expected to is going to make the final,” O’Neill said.