Schedule set for NLC soccer championships

WASILLA — The Wasilla girls and Colony boys will enter the 2008 Northern Lights Conference soccer tournament as the top seeds from the Northern Division when play gets under way Thursday at Soldotna High School.

The Warriors, who finished a perfect 4-0-0 against Northern Division teams, will face South No. 4 seed Homer at 1 p.m. If Wasilla can get past the defending NLC champion Mariners, they’ll face the winner of Palmer and Kenai Central Friday with a berth in the state tournament on the line.

The Moose and Kardinals play at 11 a.m. Thursday in the opening round.

Other first-round girls’ match-ups Thursday include the No. 2 (North) Colony girls taking on No. 3 (South) Skyview at 3 p.m. and No. 1 (South) Soldotna vs. No. 4 (North) Grace at 5 p.m.

The top three teams in both the boys’ and girls’ brackets will advance to the state tournament, which will be held May 28-31 at Anchorage Football Stadium.

The Colony boys went undefeated this season, posting an 8-0-1 record in nine regular-season games. The Knights will be looking to return to the state tournament this season after missing out last year for the first time in school history. Colony gets its NLC tournament underway Thursday at 1 p.m. against Nikiski, the No. 4 seed from the South.

Also in the first round Thursday, No. 3 (North) Wasilla will take on No. 2 (South) Kenai Central at 11 a.m.; No. 2 (North) Grace will face No. 3 (South) Homer at 3 p.m.; and No. 4 (North) Palmer will tackle the Soldotna Stars, the top seed from the South Division, at 5 p.m.

All games will be played at Soldotna High School and the adjacent Soldotna Middle School fields.

This year’s tournament was expanded to three days after coaches and players complained about last year’s format, which forced teams to play three games in two days. This year, teams will only play one game per day.

The boys’ semifinals will be held Friday at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., with the third-place game set for Noon Saturday. The boys’ championship will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Semifinals on the girls side will be held at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, the girls’ third-place game is scheduled for 10 a.m., with the championship set for 2 p.m.