Simon Dye scored a penalty kick in extra time to secure the host Homer boys soccer team a crucial 2-2 tie against Kodiak on Friday in Northern Lights Conference Southern Division action.
The Mariners finish the division in second place at 2-1-1, just ahead of the 2-2 mark of Soldotna. Homer is 8-3 overall.
Homer coach Warren Waldorf said the field clock had expired when Daniel Reutov earned a foul in the penalty area. In soccer, the referee keeps the official time on the field, adding time at his or her discretion based on things like injuries.
“We had no idea when the game would end,” Waldorf said. “Fortunately for us, one of the Kodiak players fouled Daniel Reutov in the penalty area and Simon Dye connected on the penalty kick. The game was over shortly thereafter.”
Homer had topped Kodiak 6-0 on Thursday in a game that didn’t count for the division standings, but the Bears came out much better Friday, going up 2-0 in the first half.
Waldorf said the Bears had the wind and sun at their backs in the first half. He said he warned his squad about the Bears before the game, but it’s always tough to get up for a team after beating them 6-0.
The Mariners cut it to 2-1 when Reutov fed a through ball to Dye.
“We had more opportunities that they did, but all credit to Kodiak for executing their plan,” Waldorf said.
The coach said Timothy Blakely had a solid game at center back. He also added it was nice to see Dye and Dexter Lowe continue to work their way back to full strength after injury.
Homer girls 6, Kodiak 0
The host Mariners had a perfect senior night celebration as they ended division play with one loss and moved to 4-7-1 overall.
Homer, Soldotna and Kenai all finish division play with one loss, meaning the top seed will be determined by tiebreaker.
Homer honored three seniors for senior night — Megan Pitzman, Uliana Reutov and Sam Jacobsen. Pitzman and Reutov each had two goals, while Jacobsen added a goal. Raisa Basargin had the other goal.
“I let them all play forward tonight even though it is not their normal position,” Homer coach Mike Tozzo said of his seniors. “They all got at least one goal each.
“The other thing we did really well tonight is make good passes and communication. We’re focusing on the little things like that, that we need to do to be successful at the region tournament.”
Alison McCarron had the shutout in net.
Soldotna girls 7, Houston 0
The visiting Stars moved to 9-5 overall with Ella Stenga recording the shutout in net.
Abi Tuttle got the Stars off to a good start with two quick goals, the second coming from Meijan Leaf and Kortney Birch.
Also before the end of the half, Leaf scored on an assist from Cameron Blackwell and Blackwell scored on an assist from Leaf.
In the second half, Whitney Wortham scored on an assist from Ryann Cannava, Journey Miller scored on a direct kick and Blackwell scored again.
Soldotna coach Jimmy Love said the team as a whole played a good game. Love said he’d heard some good things about Houston, and was happy with the way his team came out playing hard and playing the ball to feet.
Soldotna boys 11, Houston 1
The visiting Stars stormed past the Hawks to move their overall record to 7-7 as Alex Montague and Luke Trammell each had hat tricks..
“It was definitely nice to pound the back of the net,” Soldotna assistant Eric Dolphin said. “We also worked on some passing things. Anytime you have time and space on the ball, it helps getting in the groove.”
In the first half, Trammell scored on an assist from Eli Sheridan, Montague scored on an assist from Eli Wackler, Trammell scored on an assist from Sheridan, Sheridan scored, Montague scored and Ben Godfrey scored.
In the second half, Montague scored, Gavin Goggia scored, Trammell scored, Sean McMullen scored and Braden Lemm scored.
Grace Christian girls 2, Kenai 1
The host Grizzlies broke the tie late in the game to send the Kardinals to 9-5 overall.
Grace scored early, but Kenai equalized in the second half on a penalty kick from Mikaela Pitsch before Grace went ahead for good.
“Kenai won the time of possession by quite a bit, but wasn’t able to put the ball in the net,” Kardinals coach Dan Verkuilen said.
The coach added Cassi Holmes had a solid game at midfield.
Kenai boys 7, Grace Christian 1
The visiting Kardinals moved to 12-1 overall by rolling past the Grizzlies.
Kenai stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first half, with the scoring started by a snap kick from Rykker Riddall after Damien Redder hit the post. Zack Tuttle then scored on an assist from Tomas Levy-Canedo and Luke Beiser scored assisted by Max Dye.
The Kardinals closed the half with two free-kick goals. Dye connected from midfield, while Redder buried from the top of the box.
Kenai coach Joel Reemtsma said the Grizzlies came out with renewed energy in the second half and got a goal.
“That woke the guys back up,” the coach said.
Braydon Goodman, normally a defender, was moved up to midfield for the second half and scored twice, both assisted by Tuttle.
Reemtsma said the other positive development in the game was Kevin Ramos playing most of the game and getting closer and closer to full strength.
