Warriors boys earn tie

WASILLA -- The Wasilla Warriors boys' soccer team was bruised but not beaten Thursday.

Wasilla senior striker Angelo Ebenal sent a booming penalty kick over the head of Soldotna goalkeeper Hunter Sirois late in the second half to help the Warriors salvage a 2-2 tie in the Wasilla season opener, dominated by physical play.

Ebenal, who left the game temporarily after sustaining a bloody nose in the first half and was generally knocked around throughout the contest, earned the opportunity to kick the penalty shot after teammate Casey Bowen received a flagrant elbow from Sirois. In an intense contest, the Soldotna goalkeeper with the Andrew Dice Clay-like vocabulary spent much of the game trying to get underneath the skin of the Warriors.

Down 2-1, Ebenal sent the penalty kick over the head of Sirois and into the top left had corner of the net.

"It felt really good," Ebenal said. "When he is trying to bring you down to his level, you have to forget about it."

Minutes after his goal, as the Warriors tried to post the go ahead score, Ebenal was again sent out of the game. After sprinting past a Star defender, Ebenol sprinted for the ball to try to push in a shot. Sirois charged the play and Ebenal was sandwiched between a pair of Stars. Ebenal said after the game, his calves simply froze up and he avoided a more serious injury.

"We always battle with Soldotna every year," Ebenal said. "We definitely expected it."

Ebenal and Warrior mentor Blake Livingston agreed Soldotna was able to bring Wasilla into a different style of play in the contest.

"They play a real physical game," Livingston said. "We kind of got caught up in playing a lot of long balls."

Wasilla took a 1-0 lead very early in the contest. Just minutes after the first draw, junior striker Spencer Roddick kicked in a Bowen pass from the corner to give the Warriors the one-goal advantage.

In a flurry of action in front of the Wasilla net, Brennen Jackson put a shot by Warrior first-year goalkeeper Luke Schafer just prior to the intermission to tie the score at one. Garrett Gordon gave the Stars a temporary lead with a goal early in the second half.

"We wanted the win in the first game, but a tie is better than a loss," Ebenal said. "But still, a tie is like kissing your sister."

Colony boys 4, Nikiski 0

The Colony Knights earned their first win of the season, a 4-0 shutout of the Nikiski Bulldogs, at Colony High School on Thursday.

Senior Mike Benson led the Colony charge with a pair of goals and an assist.

Ian Walton and Brian Tomlinson also scored goals, while Walton, Jarrod Carney and Fred Hunt collected assists.

Jake Williams stopped two shots and earned the win for Colony.

Colony girls 2, Nikiski 0

Colony goalkeeper Brieta Clemmer made 16 saves to record the shutout and led the Knights to a win in their season opener on Thursday.

Megan Pfife and Annie Strayer each scored for Colony and Pfife assisted on Strayer's score.