State soccer pairings announced; Valley teams dealt tough draws

ANCHORAGE — The road to a top spot in the state soccer tournament will be a tough one for three Mat-Su teams.

The Wasilla girls, Colony girls and Colony boys will each face top-three seeds in the 2008 ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships, slated to start Wednesday at Anchorage Football Stadium.

On the girls' side, Wasilla is the top-seeded Valley squad, entering the four-day tourney as the bracket's No. 6 seed. The Warriors face Juneau-Douglas, Thursday at 4 p.m. at AFS.

Also on the girls' bracket, seventh-seeded Colony meets second-seeded Service, Wednesday at 4 p.m. at AFS.

On the boys' bracket, seventh-seeded Colony faces second-seeded Juneau-Douglas, Thursday at 6 p.m. at AFS.

The three Valley squads qualified thanks to top-three finishes in the Northern Lights Conference Soccer Championships at Soldotna High School. Wasilla was the runner-up on the girls' side, while the Colony girls and boys each finished third.

For more on the state soccer tournament, see the Tuesday edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

2008 ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships

First-round schedule

Wednesday:

Soldotna girls vs. Chugiak girls, noon

Kenai boys vs. Service boys, 2 p.m.

Service girls vs. Colony girls, 4 p.m.

Dimond boys vs. Soldotna boys, 6 p.m.

Thursday:

South boys vs. West Valley boys, noon

South girls vs. West Valley girls, 2 p.m.

Juneau girls vs. Wasilla girls, 4 p.m.

Juneau boys vs. Colony boys, 6 p.m.

All matches at AFS in Anchorage.