Rivals play to tie

WASILLA — As it turns out, Wasilla sophomore Amy Jo Coonrod’s game-winning goal with three minutes left in regulation against Soldotna last week was even bigger than the Warriors thought.

Coonrod’s tally and the 1-0 win over the Stars coupled with the Warriors’ 1-1 tie with Colony at Wasilla High School on Saturday means Wasilla owns the Northern Lights Conference North Division’s top seed when the conference tournament starts Thursday at Palmer High.

Saturday’s tie left the Valley rivals locked in the North Division standings with identical 3-0-1 marks. The tiebreaker, common opponents, came down to the two teams’ play against Soldotna last weekend. Coonrod and WHS goalkeeper Sammy Becker’s shutout gave the Warriors the 1-0 win over the Stars last Saturday, but Soldotna edged Colony 2-1 the night before.

Following the tie against Colony, Wasilla head coach Amber Craig said securing the first seed is certainly a big accomplishment for her squad.

“Every game at regions is tough, but this could definitely make our first-round game a little easier,” Craig said.

Nicole Vanni converted a penalty kick for Wasilla during the 45th minute to tie the match at 1-1, but the Warriors were held scoreless for the remainder of the game, despite a handful of solid chances.

“We’re still missing the final piece of being able to finish,” Craig said. “That’s one thing we’ll be working on these next couple of practices before regions.”

Jamie Krediet scored on a direct kick in the 25th minute to give Colony the 1-0 lead, but like the Warriors, the Knights were unable to capitalize on many of their opportunities in the match.

“(Assistant coach Ed Powell) had them working on corner kicks last night,” Colony head coach Lorie Miner said. “We just need to capitalize on those.”

Krediet nearly set up a pair of Colony goals with corner kicks during a two-minute stretch late in the game.

“We just have to hit those corner kicks,” Powell said.

Becker pulled a Colony header out of the air during the 68th minute, and CHS senior Alex Coon pushed a header just right of the goal post, off a Krediet corner kick, in the 70th minute.

“We definitely had the height, the balls placed and the touches on the balls,” Colony senior co-captain Kara Larson said of her team’s work on the corner kicks.

Wasilla also had its own near misses on corner kicks. Coonrod push a shot just to the left of the Colony goal, following a Kendra Miner corner kick, during the final two minutes of play. But despite quality chances by both sides, large chunks of time ticked off the clock without a shot on goal.

“The whole game was played in the middle,” Colony junior co-captain Katie Gonski said. “Didn’t really break either line.”

Wasilla’s back line has been a strength for the Warriors — Wasilla didn’t allow a goal during eight straight matches before Saturday’s tie — but Colony typically has a knack for putting pressure on its opponent’s defensive third.

“We usually break the back line,” Colony senior co-captain Tara Murray said.

Now that Wasilla has the top seed, Colony is seeded second in the division. But the Knights don’t seem to be too concerned.

“We have to go into every game at regions the same,” Larson said.

The NLC brackets are expected to be released on Monday.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.