WHS, CHS wins set up all-Valley semi

SOLDOTNA — Cash McGregor cashed in for Wasilla and now the Warriors are headed for the conference semifinals.

McGregor knocked a pair of headers into the back of the Soldotna net to lead the Warriors to a 4-1 win over the Stars during the first round of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Skyview High School in Soldotna on Thursday.

“He’s been a weapon for us all year in the box on flighted balls,” Wasilla head coach Blake Livingston said of McGregor by cellphone from Soldotna Thursday evening. “He uses his size and athleticism really well.”

McGregor buried a shot off a diving header during the 58^th minute to give Wasilla a 3-1 lead and padded that advantage with another header for a score later in the second half.

Livingston said McGregor’s first goal was particularly key. The goal came after Soldotna was building momentum after its first score.

“The tide was starting to change. All of that disappeared when Cash scored on the diving header,” Livingston said.

Wasilla led 1-0 at halftime. Oleg Lozko scored off a cross from Kyler Perry to give the Warriors the 1-0 lead.

Despite owning just a one-goal advantage at the break, Livingston said Wasilla’s success in the first half led to results in the second.

“We were able to kind of dictate the pace of the game and out-possess Soldotna for most of the first half,” Livingston said. “We created multiple opportunities. That carried over into the second half.”

Perry scored an unassisted tally early in the second half.

Wasilla now moves on to face a familiar foe in the second round. The Warriors meet rival Colony today at 3 p.m. at Skyview High. Colony advanced to the semis with a 4-0 win over Nikiski.

Jake Spannagel, John Meaney, Austin Richardson and Tanner Menard all scored for Colony.

Spannagel, with an assist from Chris Olsen, scored during the 10^th minute to give the Knights the early lead. Meaney took a through ball from Harrison Menard and ripped a shot into the Nikiski net in the 26^th minute.

In the second half, Olsen was taken down hard in the box to draw a penalty kick for the Knights. Richardson converted the opportunity to give the Knights the 3-0 lead in the 57^th. Twenty minutes later, Tanner Menard scored.

Ricky Kubacki earned the shutout in the Knights net.

Palmer faced top-seeded Homer as a fourth-seed for the third straight year, but couldn’t grab its third straight upset of the Mariners. Last year, the Moose bested Homer in a shootout. This year, Homer moved on to the semifinals with a 4-0 win.

Homer meets Grace Christian today at 11 a.m.

The winners of the semifinal matches earn an automatic berth to the state tournament and will play for a conference title Saturday at 4 p.m. The losers meet in the third-place game at noon. The winner of the third-place game earns the conference’s third and final berth to the state tournament, which starts May 24 in Anchorage.

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