Wasilla girls headed to state tourney

WASILLA — Last season the Wasilla Warriors managed only a pair of wins. This year, Wasilla’s headed to the state tournament.

Freshman Ally Hull netted a hat trick and junior Alexa Starr scored a pair of goals to lead Wasilla to a 5-2 win over Homer in the third-place match of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Wasilla High School Saturday morning.

With the win, Wasilla claimed the NLC’s final berth to the state tournament, which starts Thursday in Anchorage. The Warriors qualified for state for the first time since 2011, and found a way to erase their tough 2013 campaign in the process.

“It’s amazing,” Wasilla head coach Patrick O’Neill said of the program’s turnaround from 2013 to 2014. “That core group stuck with it. They took their lumps last year, but they came back.”

The Warriors program has been aided by an influx of young talent in each of the last two years. But O’Neill said attitude and embracing the team concept has been vital to the rebirth of the program.

“These girls have taken everything that (assistant coach Daisy Lofland) and I have asked them to do without a single complaint, without any argument whatsoever,” O’Neill said. “Now they’re seeing the fruits of their labor.”

O’Neill also praised his squad for rebounding from a tough 2-1 loss to Kenai in the semifinals.

“It’s tough to ask the group to come back at 10 in the morning after such a disappointing loss,” O’Neill said. “We talked to them before the game. There are only a couple of teams that get to finish regions with a win. We might as well be one of them.”

Hull struck first for Wasilla, knocking a ball in the net from about 18 yards out to give the Warriors the early 1-0 lead. After Homer tied the score at 1 with a penalty kick, Hull struck again.

The freshman powered her way through a double-team in the box, and as she was nearly knocked to the turf, Hull chipped a ball past the Homer goalkeeper to give Wasilla the 2-1 lead.

Late in the first half, Starr ripped a shot with her left foot from about 25 yards out, and tucked it underneath the crossbar to push Wasilla’s lead to 3-1.

Starr and Hull each added goals in the second half.