The Kenai Central and Soldotna girls soccer teams played to a scoreless tie Tuesday in Peninsula Conference play at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School, while the Kardinals boys picked up a 1-0 victory.
Kenai girls 0, Soldotna girls 0
The Kardinals stand at 1-1-1 in the league and 5-4-2 after the tie, while Soldotna is at 1-1-1 and 4-3-2.
In a game that showcased the stout defenses of the Kardinals and Stars, by far the best scoring opportunity came with 29 minutes left in the game when Soldotna’s Bay Bloom drew a penalty kick.
Caleigh Glassmaker took the PK for the Stars and banged it off the post, collecting the rebound and putting it in the net. The goal was wiped off the board because the player that took the penalty kick can’t be the first player to touch the ball after it bounds off the post.
Maddie Malone had the shutout for Kenai, while Sunny Miller kept a clean sheet for Soldotna.
“It was fun to watch,” Kenai coach Dan Verkuilen said. “Both teams were going hard. There was a lot of talent and athleticism out there.”
Verkuilen is happy with the way his team is developing. He said the focus going into the game was hitting good diagonal balls to the forwards and pressuring Soldotna. The coach said Kenai did a good job of both.
“What I really noticed is we’re starting to get more out of our support players,” Verkuilen said. “That’s going to be a big difference. When we talk about why we sub a lot and move a lot of people around, it’s because every day those players get an inch better and it adds to our ability.”
Verkuilen said the final step is figuring out how to put goals in, and Soldotna coach Jimmy Love agreed.
“Our problem was finishing in the final third,” Love said. “We got the ball up there, and then that final pass, we just couldn’t connect on it.
“So that’s something we’re going to have to work on for the remaining conference games and get ready for the conference tournament.”
Like Verkuilen, Love is happy with his team’s progression.
“I would rather have a strong D and we need to work on the final third than being able to finish but not having a defense,” he said. “We can work on the goals part. I don’t mind where we’re at.”
Love said his only disappointment was he felt his team did not play as well as it had the past three games.
“We just didn’t come to play tonight,” Love said. “There were individuals that played well, but as a whole we did not. So that’s a little frustrating to me.”
Kenai boys 1, Soldotna 0
The visiting Kardinals moved to 3-0 in the Peninsula Conference and 5-4-1 overall while dropping the Stars to 2-1 in the league and 3-4-1 overall.
Kenai’s Joe Hamilton created the game’s decisive moment when he scored on a direct free kick from just outside the box in the final minute of the first half.
“It was a really good game,” Kenai coach Shane Lopez said. “It’s what you would come to expect from these teams — hard-fought on both sides of the ball.
“I thought our guys played really well. They did a great job moving the ball around, keeping possession and creating opportunities.”
In addition to Hamilton’s work in the midfield, Lopez praised the midfield play of Sam Baisden, saying he was everywhere while doing everything. The coach also said Ky Calvert did a great job at left defense, not only winning the ball but distributing it.
Goalie Gavin Langham made some rapid-fire saves in the final 15 minutes of the game to preserve the shutout.
For Soldotna, it was a third straight 1-0 loss.
“If you can’t score, you’re not going to win many games,” SoHi coach Erik Dolphin said.
Dolphin said the chances have been there for his team, but nobody has capitalized.
“We had a bunch of guys missing today for various reasons,” Dolphin said. “We had a super short bench and had to play different groups.”
The coach said Zac Buckbee continues to be the ultimate grinder in the midfield and is everything you could ask for in a sophomore captain. Dolphin also said Gehret Medcoff made some nice saves to keep it at 1-0.
Homer girls 12, Nikiski 0
The visiting Mariners moved to 4-0 in the Peninsula Conference and 7-4-2 with the victory, while Nikiski dropped to 0-4 and 0-7.
The Mariners got a hat trick from Ava Halstead, two goals apiece from Sela Weisser, Lily King and Minadora Reutov, and goals from Maddox Berg and Mariah McGuire. Izzy Dye and Sela Weisser had two assists, while Berg added an assist.
Felicia Weisser had the shutout in goal.
“We rested Debbie Weisser and had a couple of others out on injury,” Homer coach Mike Tozzo said in a text message. “Overall it was a good opportunity to get better and I felt like we did that tonight.”
“It was rough, but our defense is getting better and our girls didn’t give up,” Nikiski coach Angie Coelho said in a text after the loss.
Homer boys 10, Nikiski 0
The visiting Mariners moved to 2-2 in the Peninsula Conference and 5-7-1 overall with the victory over the Bulldogs, who fell to 0-4 and 0-6-1.
Homer took a 3-0 lead after the first half on unassisted goals, one from Jack Hrenchir and two from Owen Pitzman.
In the second half, Michael Reutov scored on an assist from Pitzman, Hrenchir scored with help from Jake Tappan, Tappan scored on an assist from Lucas Story, Espen Hennick scored on an assist from Hrenchir, Story scored unassisted, Hrenchir scored unassisted and Rocco Flora scored on a penalty kick.
Walden Kreszeski earned the shutout in net for Homer.
“The boys communication was on point today, the boys are ready for the hard times ahead,” Homer coach Adam Diaz texted after the game. “We strive to bring valor to the up and coming games as we wrapped up the regular season. Live by the code of the samurai.”
Nikiski coach Jeremy Garrett said Johnny Ralston played a great game for Nikiski on defense. Garrett said with limited players, his squad got fatigued late in the game.
Kenai Central’s Kylie Verkuilen and Soldotna’s Jolie Widaman battle for the ball Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
