JDHS soccer girls battle to 1-1 tie at Wasilla

Klas Stolpe
2 hours ago
4 min read

Crimson Bears still atop the Railbelt Conference state qualification

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé girls soccer team celebrates a Crimson Bears penalty kick goal by senior Peyton Wheeler against Wasilla during the Crimson Bears' 1-1 draw against the Warriors on Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Wasilla. (Photo courtesy JDHS girls soccer)

By Klas Stolpe

Juneau Independent

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé girls soccer team ended their Railbelt Conference season with a 1-1 draw at Wasilla on Saturday, which still leaves the Crimson Bears as the conference’s top seed going into the state championships May 28-30 at Matanuska-Susitna Valley hosts Colony, Palmer and Wasilla.

JDHS had defeated Wasilla 2-0 on Friday and Division II Northern Lights Conference Palmer 3-0 on Thursday as part of a three-game road trip.

JDHS has only given up three goals to conference opponents.

“I think we have shown we are a fairly decent side on the defending side of things,” JDHS coach Matt Dusenberry said. “Whether it is Kate (junior Kate Bovitz), Nellie (sophomore Nellie Stowers) and Marigold (sophomore Marigold Lindoff), or Zoe (sophomore Zoe Tagsip) and Marigold, or Piper (senior Piper Blackgoat Diehl), Nellie and Marigold…you know, whoever is back there, we have done our job for sure... This year, for the most part, we have pace on the back line. We haven’t always had that. We have had strong defenders in the past. With certain players in our conference, their strength is their speed and that is tough at times. But I think we have done well with our fight, our grit and our ability to work together cohesively as a group. Our back three, and you could argue that Maddie (freshman Maddie Dale) and Kenzie (senior Kenzie Simonson) are sometimes part of that back line idea, and the way we play and get organized quickly.”

According to stats provided by JDHS, both teams scored their draw with roughly 20 minutes left in the second half. Warriors junior Lainey Kroon scored unassisted on a free kick for a 1-0 lead and Crimson Bears senior Peyton Wheeler scored on a penalty kick to tie the match.

Wheeler’s opportunity came after she played a corner kick into the Wasilla box for sophomore Ayla Erickson to get a head touch. Wasilla’s Kroon missed punching the ball out but connected with JDHS’ Erickson for a penalty. Wheeler stepped up to take the kick and scored to tie the game at 1-1.

JDHS senior keeper Tearamae Alexander, another key defensive part, played 80 minutes with two saves. Wasilla sophomore keeper Larkynn Miner played 80 minutes with 13 saves.

Minutes played by the Crimson Bears show Wheeler, senior Kenzie Simonson, junior Riley Schultz, sophomores Zoe Tagsip, Marigold Lindoff, Nellie Stowers and Ayla Erickson, and freshman Maddie Dale 80 each. Junior Kate Bovitz played 65 minutes, freshman Hailey Romero 43, junior Clairee Overson 27, senior Piper Blackgoat Diehl 15 and sophomore Gracie Snyder 10.

“We for the most part had the most shots on goal,” Dusenberry said. “As good as our defense is, we have a strong front half.”

Schultz earned the JDHS Hard Hat honor for the match.

“Riley does the work that does not always make the stat sheet with goals and assists,” Dusenberry said. “She works so hard on the defensive end for us and helps us circulate the ball in attack.”

Minutes played by the Warriors show seniors Danielle Steiner, Delany Tatum, Gracie Weisz, juniors Mickenzy Lofland and Jordan Sande, sophomore Chloe Fletcher and freshman Kylie Taylor played 80 each, Kroon 70, senior Makenna Hanson 60, sophomore Leia Michael 30, sophomore Allie Johnson 25 and freshman Laila Kotyk five.

The Crimson Bears girls end their RBC play with a 6-1-1 record (10-2-1 overall) and have guaranteed themselves the top state seed from the conference. The Warriors are 4-2-2 in the RBC (10-4-3 overall), with West Valley at 4-3-1 (4-4-1 overall). RBC Colony sits at 4-4 (10-5 overall). Lathrop is 0-8 (0-9 overall).

JDHS will host DII Southeast Conference competitor Ketchikan in a friendly at the Adair Kennedy Memorial Park pitch at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Crimson Bears girls senior night will precede the game at 5 p.m.

JDHS will also host the CIC-leading South Anchorage Wolverines this weekend in a non-conference, two-game friendly with the girls playing at 5:15 p.m. Friday followed by the boys senior night at 7 p.m. and boys friendly against the South boys at 7:30 p.m. Saturday the girls play South at 11 a.m. and the boys at 1 p.m.

“South is one of the best teams in the state at the moment,” Dusenberry said. “So I am sure we are going to get tested. We will give them the best that we can.”

The top three teams from the RBC advance to state, along with the top four from the Cook Inlet Conference and one at-large selection.

South Anchorage sits atop the CIC with a 13-0 record (14-0 overall), Chugiak 8-2-1 (12-3-1 overall), Dimond 7-3-1 (10-5-1 overall) and Service 8-4-1 (9-4-1 overall). West Anchorage is 4-6-1 (4-7-1 overall), Eagle River 4-7 (4-8-1 overall), East 1-12 (1-14 overall) and Bartlett 0-11 (0-14 overall)

Current RPI rankings that seed the seven state qualifiers and the at-large berth one through eight show Colony with a strong shot at the at-large berth. The ranking as of Sunday are South, JDHS, Chugiak, Colony, Dimond, Wasilla, Service and West Valley.