Valley girls soccer squads ready to battle

WASILLA — Last season the Wasilla Warriors and Colony Knights met in the Northern Lights Conference Championships third-place match, an elimination game with the loser done for the season and the winner headed to state.

Wasilla won that battle, and advanced to the ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships for the second straight year. The Knights saw their season come to a close in the NLC tourney for the second straight season.

A year later, both Wasilla and Colony have state tournament aspirations once again. But both teams are aiming to clinch their state tourney berths with a trip to the NLC championship game this season, rather than waiting for the last chance in the conference’s third-place match. And both teams are hoping to use depth to achieve the goal.

“Hopefully we can use depth to our advantage this year, and not drop off when we make substitutions,” Wasilla head coach Patrick O’Neill said recently.

Colony hopes to use a surge of young talent, combined with its experienced core of talent to reach its goals. The Knights have at least five freshmen expected to contribute significantly on a daily basis.

“It’s one of the deepest freshmen classes we’ve had in awhile,” longtime Colony head coach Lorie Miner said.

Wasilla and Colony are joined by a junior-laden Palmer squad and an up-and-coming Houston team in a NLC North Division that also features Anchorage’s Grace Christian School.

Wasilla Warriors

Wasilla is the only Valley girls’ soccer team to play in the state tournament since Colony advanced in 2013. Wasilla did graduate a stellar senior class from its 2015 team, a group that included last season’s NLC Player of the Year, Alexa Starr, but O’Neill believes his squad will continue to stack up against the NLC’s best.

“There’s no reason to think we can’t be successful,” O’Neill said.

Wasilla’s senior class of 2015 did account for about 60 percent of the team’s scoring from last year. That urged O’Neill to tweak the team’s game plan and alter the style. The Warriors will be more defensive oriented, O’Neill said, but will take advantage of the speed and skill that the team still has.

A focal point is junior Ally Hull.

“Ally is such a well-rounded player. We kind of built a system around her,” O’Neill said.

Ability to distribute the ball, physical play and unselfish nature are among Hull’s traits the Warriors will utilize, O’Neill said. Hull’s athleticism and vision, combined with Wasilla’s overall team speed could be key, he said.

Joining Hull, a captain, in leadership roles, are senior captains Merit Paramo and Haley Brandon. Addie Mesick and Daija Doughty join Paramo and Brandon as four-year varsity players in the program.

Alia Donley will help Wasilla up top, with speed at the striker position. Jodie Richey, another talent with speed, has moved from a defensive position to an outside midfield spot.

Brandon and sweeper Lindsey Cizek will lead Wasilla on the back end.

The Warriors also have talent within the freshmen class, notably Abby Crawford and Alexis Friesen. Crawford scored twice during her prep debut, a 3-1 win over Ketchikan, April 7. Friesen is a highly skilled player, O’Neill said, is starting in a defensive midfield spot.

The Warriors have a new goalkeeper this season. Olivia Matson, a member of the Wasilla hockey team, is starting in net. Matson is new to the position, but shows promise, O’Neill said.

“She’s super athletic, tough, quick and has great hands,” O’Neill said.

Colony Knights

Wasilla is opting for a more defensive game plan. Rival Colony is looking to push the tempo in 2016.

During a pair of preseason scrimmages, Colony put 30 shots on goal and netted 11 goals in each. In it’s 2016 debut April 9, Colony peppered Ketchikan with 23 shots during a 4-1 win.

“We have at least eight solid players on the field at any given time who can shoot the ball and score,” Miner said.

The squad has shown a number of promising attributes this season — speed, ability to pass, reading the field and shooting — Miner said. Colony hopes to use the combination to score its first spot in state since 2013.

Like O’Neill, Miner is also excited about her team’s depth.

“We have great depth on our team,” Miner said.

The Knights have the veteran talent, such as former NLC Player of the Year Peyton Johnstone. But Colony’s freshman class has provided the program with an immediate boost.

“The load of freshman we have, with some talent, speed, knowledge of the game, they’ll make great contributions to the Colony lineup,” Miner said.

Johnstone, now a senior, is joined by veterans such as Autumn Richardson, Kaylee Mahler and Sahara Iverson.

The Knights also have another new contributor, Rina Inagaki, a foreign exchange student from Japan.

“She’ll make an awesome contribution,” Miner said.

Rina scored in her Knights debut, the 4-1 win over Ketchikan.

A pair of goalkeepers saw action for the Knights against Ketchikan, veteran Maddy Zmuda and freshman Ashlynn Cornelison.

Palmer Moose

Palmer’s known for a fielding a squad full of multisport athletes, but the Moose open their season trying to fill the void left by players lost to injuries suffered in a different sport. Seniors Carly Venzke, Kiana Till and Katy Bowman, mainstays on the varsity squad throughout their high school careers all suffered injuries during the high school basketball season, and are unable to hit the soccer field for a fourth year.

But on the flipside, the Moose are welcoming back another player who suffered a season-ending soccer injury as a junior. Senior captain Elliese Wright is back and will lead Palmer from her spot in the midfield this year. Joining Wright among Palmer’s leaders this year are seniors Ali Schneider and Desi Molina. Schneider, a captain, will anchor the Palmer defense. Molina is Palmer’s goalkeeper.

Palmer’s junior class makes up about half the Moose roster. Key juniors include Tiana Lee, Haley Hanson and Avery Parker. Many of Palmer’s juniors have been part of the varsity squad since their freshman season.

Palmer also added another multisport athlete to the team, junior Mallory Bradford, who also plays volleyball and basketball at PHS.

Sophomore Kiley Fish, a starter in the midfield, leads a group of four 10th-graders on the varsity team.

Houston Hawks

The Houston Hawks are off to a strong start to the 2016 season. Houston opened the season with a 2-1 victory over Valley rival Palmer and swept a pair of games at Kodiak April 8-9.

In three matches the 3-0 Hawks have outscored opponents 14-1.

Megan Adair is among Houston’s leaders, netting at least a goal in each of Houston’s first three games. Adair, who notched a hat trick during an 8-0 win on April 8, has five goals.

Aspen Ruth also returns as one of the leaders for the Hawks. That group also includes Taylor Moore, Cassie Kapuniai and Tianna Adair.

Goalkeeper Corree Bean is 3-0 in net for the Hawks this season.

** Editor’s note: This is the first piece of a two-part series previewing the Valley 4A prep soccer squads. For a piece featuring the boys’ teams, see an upcoming edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

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