WHS girls don’t waste extra time; on to state

PALMER — Amber Craig loves her team, but sometimes she can’t help but wonder why her Wasilla Warriors wait until overtime to play their best soccer.

Wasilla used a goal early in the first overtime to edge the Kenai Kardinals 1-0 in the third-place match of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Colony High School on Saturday morning.

“I kind of told them, do we have to go into overtime for you guys to get that we all have to go out there and be intense,” Craig said. “I love this team, this is a fun team, but sometimes they kind of play to the level that the other team plays at. Kenai wasn’t necessarily playing an intense style of game. It was the same against Nikiski. But they rise to the competition.”

But after a scoreless 80 minutes, something clicked for the Warriors during extra time. Sophomore Caitlyn Butcher sent a cross from the right side during the first overtime, and seniors Amy Jo Coonrod and Reace Morrison provided the push to force the loose ball into the net and supply the Warriors with the game-winner.

Neither Craig nor Coonrod knew exactly who had the final touch before the ball met the back of the net, but Craig praised the efforts of both seniors on the play.

After Butcher sent a sharp cross from the right side, Kenai goalkeeper Sidney Thomas got her hands on the ball, but wasn’t able to hold possession. Coonrod came in to get a touch, and Morrison also crashed before the ball popped into the net.

Craig said her time also started shooting the ball during overtime.

“In the last 20 minutes everyone wanted the goal, and that’s when we started getting opportunities,” Craig said.

Coonrod, senior Ashlynn Frizzelle and senior Lina Shadrach also had quality chances in overtime.

Coonrod lifted a shot just high of the net during the 92nd minute. Frizzelle, coming up from the right side, pushed a shot just beyond the far post in the 94th. Later in the second overtime, Shadrach fired a shot from the left side just beyond the right post.

Wasilla earned the NLC’s first state tournament berth with the win and had to do so without junior Nikki Vanni, the 2010 NLC Player of the Year. Vanni, an anchor in the Wasilla midfield, was seriously injured during a semifinal loss to Soldotna and was hospitalized overnight on Friday.

Craig said medical officials were concerned about an injury to her liver.

“She got knocked down a couple of times and the last time she pretty much got kneed right underneath her ribs,” Craig said.

Vanni was released from the hospital Saturday morning, but will be out of action for at least six weeks. Craig said Vanni’s teammates stepped up in her absence.

“The girls knew they’d have to make adjustments,” Craig said. “Today we changed the lineup a lot.”

Craig moved Frizzelle into the midfield to help run the show. The Warriors also moved Brook Morgan to the offensive end to help provide a spark.

“We brought her up top for a while. She’s real offensive minded,” Craig said.

Soldotna 1, Wasilla 0

PALMER — Soldotna scored in the first minute and held on for a 1-0 semifinal win over Wasilla on Friday.

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