Valley boys’ soccer: Former Wasilla standout returns to lead Warriors

WASILLA — As a senior in 2011, Paul Sliwa was at the top of the Northern Lights Conference. The former Wasilla boys’ soccer standout helped Wasilla earn the Northern Lights Conference title before earning NLC Player of the Year honors.

Six years late, Sliwa is back with the program as Wasilla’s head coach.

“It’s great. I’ve loved every minute of it,” Sliwa said recently of his return to the team. “I get to be back home, and to be able to coach my old team is a privilege and an honor. “

Sliwa — a four-year starter at the University of Great Falls in Montana — said returning from college and coaching in his hometown wasn’t at the top of his priority list.

It just kind of happened.

“Find a job, get married, see what’s next,” Sliwa said of his plans.

After graduating from UGF in 2015, Sliwa made his way back to Wasilla. During the offseason, Sliwa learned of the opening, and took a shot at it. After accepting the job, Sliwa brought in two more former Warriors to help out. Sliwa added his older brother, Jimmy, and another member of Wasilla’s class of 2011, former Wasilla goalkeeper Eli Tingstad.

All three played college soccer. The Sliwa brothers both played for UGF in 2011 and helped the Argos advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA men’s soccer national tournament. Tingstad played college soccer in Oregon.

“Having these guys has been huge for me,” Sliwa said.

Sliwa also brought in JB Schwartz to coach at the junior varsity level.

On the field, Sliwa said the Warriors are certainly a young squad, with a large sophomore class. There are only two seniors on the squad.

“We see this as a building year with an all-new coaching staff. We’re getting to know the guys, letting the guys get to know us,” Sliwa said.

Sliwa said he sees a lot of potential, and hopes to see his athletes get progressively better as the year goes on.

“They’ve taken what we’ve taught them and applied it well,” Sliwa said.

Sliwa said the coaches are looking to senior Harris Fife and junior Ryan Polis to be the leaders on the squad. The Warriors also have young, and up and coming players, Sliwa said, such as Augustine Mendoza.

Colony Knights

Colony has been an annual contender for the Northern Lights Conference crown, and longtime head coach Jeremy Johnson expects the Knights to be among the top teams in not just the region, but in the state, again this year.

“We’re excited for the potential. We’ve got a lot of good players, good chemistry. The making of a good team,” Johnson said. Entering the season, Johnson said, the primary question was who is going to fill the scoring void. Graduated seniors Ben Sande, Cameron Shaw and Alex Valdez accounted for about 80 percent of the team’s scoring last season.

This year, Noah Krozel has emerged as a top scorer for the Knights. Kyle Dearborn is another young standout who can be a leader on the offensive end.

Cade Johnstone and Michael Sliwa are also key pieces, and Isaiah Hall and Caleb Hall are among the leaders of the Colony veterans.

“I think we’re going to have a really strong team this year. The guys work really well together, know each other,” Johnson said.

Palmer Moose

The Palmer Moose are also young, but head coach Jason Rice said he’s excited about the potential of his squad.

“We’re super young again, mostly a sophomore led team,” Rice said recently.

Rice said Palmer has only three seniors on the squad, and the lack of that experience has been a big factor so far, he said.

“Having 17, 18-year-olds is a big difference than having 15, 16,” Rice said.

Rice said he is seeing progress.

“We’re growing, moving in the right direction,” Rice said.

He hopes to see his team play spoiler late in the 2017 season, but also feels the future is promising for Moose soccer.

Rice said senior center midfielder Johnnie Burton leads the squad this year. The Moose also have sophomore Isaiah Montoya, who Rice called Palmer’s, “jack of all trades.”

Rice also noted junior defensive midfielder Reed Godden, junior right midfielder Manveer Singh and sophomore goalkeeper Caden Brown.

Rice said the addition of former Moose standout Josh Banks and former Colony standout Austin Richardson to the Palmer coaching staff has been huge for the Moose. Both play at Southwest Oregon Community College and have brought that experience to the program.

Houston Hawks

The Houston Hawks are led by first-year head coach John Haley. Houston is still in search of its first win in NLC play.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.