Weather fails to freeze Palmer offense

PALMER — The temperature dipped below 40 degrees. A mist turned into a slight rain. The wind was strong enough to cut right through a light jacket.

While most of the Palmer Moose were doing more than enough to stay warm in the un-spring like conditions by consistently moving the ball up the field and peppering the Skyview Panthers with a constant stream of shots, Palmer junior goalkeeper Chelsea Riley stood frozen, watching the play stay on the other end of the field.

Riley faced only one early shot as the Moose rolled to a 7-0 win over the Panthers at Machetanz Field at Palmer High School on Thursday.

Junior Shawna Thein posted the hat trick to lead Palmer (1-1) on the offensive end and senior Tess Anderson scored twice.

Led by Thein and Anderson, the Moose scored four of their seven goals during the first 40 minutes, but Palmer head coach Brian Fish felt his team actually played better during the second half.

“I thought we made some good adjustments in the second half,” Fish said. “We really held possession a lot better and were really able to move the ball around the way we wanted to.”

Becca Kloster and Shea Riggs also scored for the Moose.

“The nice thing was there’s a lot of different players who got opportunities,” Fish said.

Kloster gave the Moose the initial lead when she caught the left corner of the Skyview net during the 13th minute.

Anderson scored both of her goals within a five-minute span midway through the first half to give Palmer the three-goal advantage. Palmer took the 2-0 lead when Anderson knocked the rebound of a Krysta Theisen shot into a wide open net.

The net was left open after the Skyview goalie came out to challenge Theisen. The senior put a shot of the goalie’s shins, and the ball ricocheted toward the center, right to a crashing Anderson.

During the 28th minute, Anderson put in a shot from 20 yards out into the net.

Thein scored the first of her three goals during the 31st minute, putting a shot from a hard angle on the left side into the far side of the net.

Thein put in a header of a Theisen cross during the 41st minute, and completed the hat trick by scoring off a corner kick during the 63rd minute.

Riggs knocked in a short shot during the 61st minute to account for her score.

Skyview put its only shot on goal during the early minutes of the game. During the second half, the closest Skyview came to the Palmer goal was a throw in near the right corner during the 66th minute.

Colony 1, East 1

ANCHORAGE — Another match, another tie.

Colony posted its second tie in as many matches, playing to a 1-1 tie against East Anchorage at Anchorage Football Stadium on Wednesday.

Senior Kara Larson accounted for the Knights only goal, scoring during the 39th minute.

Colony opened its season with a 2-2 tie against Wasilla on Monday.

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