Valley teams dealt tough draws

Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE — Entering the state soccer tournament as the third team from the Northern Lights Conference, Colony head coach Jeremy Johnson knew his Knights would have a tough road to a top spot in the state tourney.

And he wasn’t surprised to learn his team had drawn perennial soccer power Juneau-Douglas in the first round of the 2008 ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships.

“If you want to be a state champion you have to go through Juneau or South somewhere along the way,” Johnson said on Monday.

The Knights face the Crimson Bears at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Anchorage Football Stadium.

South Anchorage and Juneau have dominated the Alaska boys’ soccer circuit. South, the top seed on the boys’ bracket, is looking for the four-peat, and Juneau has finished no lower than third since ASAA sanctioned the state soccer tourney in 2000.

Juneau was the runner-up the last two seasons, earned state titles in 2001 and 2003.

“They always have a great side,” Johnson said.

Though the Crimson Bears bleed soccer tradition, Johnson and the Knights are not exactly ready to concede. In fact, Johnson feels a tough Northern Lights Conference tournament helped CHS prepare for difficult state competition, and he believes his young and talented squad is yet to peak.

“We definitely haven’t put together out best match yet,” Johnson said. “a full 80 minutes. We’re hoping to do it this weekend.”

Colony finished third in the NLC tourney last weekend, sandwiching a tough 1-0 loss to Kenai Central in the semifinals with wins over Nikiski (3-2) and Homer (7-0).

Kenai also bounced defending region champion Wasilla in the first round, and eventually won the 2008 NLC crown with a 2-1 win over Soldotna in the final match. Johnson said it was certainly a competitive season in the Mat-Su.

“It’s probably one of the most equally balanced (tournaments) I’ve seen,” Johnson said.

Wasilla girls seeded sixth, Colony seventh

Like the Colony boys, the two local girls squads that qualified for the 2008 state meet were also dealt tough first-round draws.

Sixth-seeded Wasilla, the NLC runner-up, meets third-seeded Juneau and seventh-seeded Colony will face second-seeded Service.

But also, much like Johnson, Wasilla head coach Katie Broeder is not ready to give up just because Juneau-Douglas is tagged a traditional power.

“They’ve got five losses. That shows they’re beatable,” Broeder said on Monday. “We have a good shot at them.”

Although the Warriors haven’t faced Juneau since 2006, Juneau did see Palmer this year, edging the Moose 1-0. That’s a good comparison for Broeder and the Warriors, who scored a 2-0 win over Palmer during the final week of the regular season.

Broeder said she’s also excited about her team earning the sixth seed.

“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we didn’t go in last,” Broeder said.

The Warriors were the state’s eighth seed in 2005 and 2007.

Wasilla used wins over defending NLC champion Homer and Kenai Central to move into the 2008 NLC title game last weekend at Soldotna. The host Stars used a 2-1 win over WHS to grab the conference crown.

“There’s a reason why Soldotna’s undefeated,” Broeder said. “They’re good.”

The Warriors face the Bears at 4 p.m. on Thursday at AFS.

Colony is the seventh seed after finishing third in the NLC tourney, and will face Service Wednesday at 4 p.m. at AFS.

The Knights scored a 2-0 win over Skyview in the conference quarterfinals, dropped a 2-0 loss to Soldotna in the semifinals and punched their ticket to the state tourney with a 2-1 win over Kenai in the NLC third-place game.

Service is another traditional soccer power, with three state titles to its credit. But the Cougars have been proven to be human, as of late, missing the state tournament in 2005 and 2006. Service finished fourth last season.

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