Warrior girls get revenge against Northern Lights Conference rival

CHUGIAK — When Wasilla was pushed backward into the consolation side of the bracket with a quarterfinal loss to Chugiak, the Warriors refocused their sights on a new set of goals. There’s finishing in fourth place. But maybe even more importantly, there was the chance to get the best of Soldotna.

And on Friday, the Warriors finally shot down the Stars.

Senior Kendra Miner netted the hat trick to help lead her team to the 3-1 win over their Northern Lights Conference rival during the ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships consolation semifinals at Chugiak High School Friday morning.

With Miner’s three goals and a handful of key Kamarae Kaina saves in the Wasilla net, Wasilla was able to exact some revenge against a Soldotna team that has, in recent years, become a painful thorn in the Warriors’ side. The Stars became a nemesis that could rival Colony or Palmer, beating Wasilla twice this season alone. Soldotna posted a 3-1 regular season win, and after scoring during the opening minutes, held on for a 1-0 win over Wasilla in the NLC semifinals last week.

And last season, the Stars beat Wasilla in the NLC title game.

Typically, the rule around Wasilla High is you don’t lose to Colony. But on the bus ride to the game Friday morning, Wasilla head coach Amber Craig set a new rule.

“I said we don’t lose to Soldotna, starting today,” Craig said. “Soldotna’s a team we’ve battled with for years now and it was our time to come out on top for sure.”

Miner scored twice during the first 15 minutes to give her squad the 2-0 lead.

Miner snuck a shot inside the near post during the ninth minute to score her first goal of the game. During the 15th minute, Miner took advantage of the aggressive play of Soldotna goalkeeper Rebecca Satathite.

Satathite played deep onto the field. Miner was able to get the ball and chip a shot right over the head of the SoHi keeper. Satathite couldn’t recover in time.

“I talk all the time about taking advantage of what you’re given,” Craig said. “Soldotna has got a great keeper, and she came out high onto the field. Kendra saw that.”

Miner completed her hat trick in the 46th minute, tallying a score set up by senior Amy Jo Coonrod.

Coonrod rushed the ball down the field and passed back into the slot to Miner, who knocked a shot into the right side of the net.

“Amy Joe did a great job taking the ball down the side. She knew she was at a bad angle. She slotted it back and Kendra placed it,” Craig said.

West Valley girls 3, Wasilla 0

ANCHORAGE — The West Valley Wolfpack used a 3-0 shutout of Wasilla Saturday morning at Dimond High School to finish fourth in the state tournament.

After the loss, Craig said West Valley is simply a solid team and the Wolfpack pass the ball well. Despite the loss, Craig was happy her team met some of its goals.

“At the beginning of the year, we said we wanted three games at state and we did reach the third game,” Craig said. “That’s definitely a positive.”

The match also marked Craig’s final game as head coach of the Warriors. A stay-at-home mother of two young children, Craig said she is stepping back to spend more time with her family before she returns to teaching.

In Craig’s seven years with the program, Wasilla has advanced to the state tournament six times.

West Valley girls 4, Colony 0

CHUGIAK — The West Valley Wolfpack ended Colony’s season with a 4-0 victory over the Knights during the ASAA/First National Bank State Soccer Championships consolation semifinals at Chugiak High School on Friday.

Service boys 3,

Wasilla 1

CHUGIAK — The Wasilla Warriors saw their season come to an end with a 3-1 loss to Service Friday during the consolation semifinals at Chugiak High School.

Wasilla took the field without senior starters Paul Sliwa and Cameron Perry, who were out with injuries.

Sliwa was the NLC Player of the Year in 2011. Perry was named second-team All-NLC.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.