Warriors explode in extra time

WASILLA — During the days leading up to the conference tournament, Wasilla head coach Amber Craig’s message to her players was simple — finish.

Finish shots. Finish opportunities. Finish matches.

It may have taken the Warriors a while on Thursday, but after playing through a long stalemate with Nikiski, Wasilla scored three goals during extra time to grab a 4-1 overtime win over the Bullldogs in the quarterfinal round of the 2011 Northern Lights Conference Championships at Colony High School.

After the conference rivals played through 80 minutes of regulation tied at 1, senior Amy Jo Coonrod scored the go-ahead goal during the ninth minute of the first overtime period and senior Kendra Miner added a pair of goals during the second overtime frame to ice the win over the Bulldogs and help the Warriors move into NLC semifinal match with Soldotna today at 11 a.m. at CHS.

“It’s a one-loss elimination (tournament). We didn’t want our season to end this early,” Miner said after the victory. “We knew we had to keep pushing, otherwise we’d be out of the tournament, out of regions and out of state. (The) seniors especially do not want that.”

The score was knotted at 1 at the end of regulation despite Wasilla’s constant pressure on the Nikiski net that lasted through much of the final 60 minutes of regulation. The Warriors had a number of tremendous scoring opportunities during regulation, but were held to a single goal thanks to the stellar play of Nikiski senior goalkeeper Angie Parrish.

Parrish made diving stops. The senior left her feet to make a sprawling save of an Ashlynn Frizzelle shot during the 39th minute. She took away attempts off corner kicks and went to the ground a number of times to take away opportunities of the persistent Wasilla forwards.

“That’s exactly what she’s done all year,” Nikiski head coach Mandy Adair said. “She did that all last year for us. She’s solid back there.”

Nikiski took the early lead in the match when senior Britany Tuttle placed a shot over the head of Wasilla senior goalkeeper Kamarae Kaina during the 10th minute. Miner, who netted the hat trick in the win, tied the score in the 16th minute.

After junior Nikki Vanni fed a long through ball from the midfield, Miner retrieved possession, drove into the box and tapped a soft shot to the right of Parrish. It was one of two Miner goals set up by a long Vanni pass.

“Nikki had some great feeds up to her,” Craig said.

The Warriors would play the final 64 minutes of regulation without another score. Miner said the Warriors had to play through the frustration of having such offensive success without many goals to show for it.

“It’s frustrating for me and the whole team to know we can shoot and score. It just comes down to getting the shots and placing them,” Miner said.

The Warriors were able to strike late during the first overtime.

Junior Mikaela Hull put a hard shot on goal from the right side of the field beyond the penalty box during the ninth minute of the first overtime. The attempt drifted toward the far side of the net, and senior Amy Jo Coonrod crashed the net to score the go-ahead tally.

“Amy always does a good job of finishing,” Craig said. “Our forwards, Amy, Reace (Morrison), Kendra, they do a great job of always being there.”

Miner added insurance midway through the second overtime, taking another long Vanni feed to set up a breakaway opportunity and score.

“Kendra, I was talking about her during the coaches meeting. You put her in a breakaway situation, and she’s gonna finish,” Craig said.

Later in the second overtime, Morrison put a rocket on net from the right side. Parrish put both her hands up to make the save, but Miner was there to pick up the loose ball and score.

“Reace put one right on the goalie and I just crashed,” Miner said. “Coach has been emphasizing that in practice — finish, finish, finish.”

Craig said she was not surprised to see an improved Nikiski side.

“One thing I told the girls at the beginning of the game, you can’t expect them to be the same as they were when we played them the last time,” Craig said.

Adair said, despite the loss, she was pleased with how her team battled.

“The girls came out and fought hard. They really wanted to make a statement up here. We almost got one, we almost got it,” Adair said. “Nobody expected us to even be in this game at all. But to take Wasilla to overtime is a huge statement for us as a program.”

Wasilla boys 2,

Soldotna 1 OT

PALMER — Thursday was a pretty good day for Paul Sliwa.

Thursday evening, the Wasilla High senior walked across the stage as a member of Wasilla’s graduating class of 2011. Earlier in the day, Sliwa converted a pair of penalty kicks to help the Warriors move into the semifinal round of the Northern Lights Conference Championships.

Sliwa knocked in a penalty kick during the final minute of regulation and the final minute of overtime to lead the Warriors to a 2-1 win over the Soldotna Stars in the NLC quarterfinals at Palmer High.

Soldotna led 1-0 into the final minute of regulation before Sliwa drew a penalty inside the box. He converted the kick to tie the score. Once again, late in the second overtime, Sliwa drew another penalty and found the back of the net again to prevent the teams from heading into a shootout.

Wasilla will play Valley rival and top-seeded Colony today at 5 p.m. at CHS in the semifinals.

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