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JDHS soccer girls complete home field sweep of Colony
- Klas Stolpe
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Crimson Bears topple Knights to secure state qualifying berth
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls soccer team completed a weekend sweep of Railbelt Conference rival Colony on Saturday with a 3-1 win on the Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park pitch, securing a berth in the state tournament May 28-30. JDHS had defeated Colony 5-1 on Friday.
“I think it is a really good accomplishment,” senior defender Kenzie Simonson said. “I think everyone has worked really hard and has been wanting this all season. And I think it is great.”
JDHS sophomore defender Zoe Tagsip scored with under 20 minutes to play in the first half, assisted by senior forward Peyton Wheeler. That goal would stand through the counterattacks from Colony’s talented senior striker, Avrie Giegerich.
“She is a special player that in my opinion can’t be man-marked,” JDHS coach Matt Dusenberry said. “Instead we just tried to get into passing lanes quickly so that Avrie’s teammates had to pass elsewhere. Piper (senior Piper Blackgoat-Diehl) had a lot to do with that.”
Giegerich scored 38 goals last season, seven of which came against JDHS. Dusenberry said the Crimson Bears’ defenders — including Tagsip, sophomores Marigold Lindoff and Nellie Stowers, Simonson and the rotating midfielders — all played a role in slowing that offensive threat.
“It really shows the rest of the state that we can compete,” junior midfielder Riley Schultz said of earning a state berth. “Compared to last year in which we didn’t do so well. So we are really happy to make it to state because that was one of our goals this season. It is just really rewarding for us.”
JDHS sophomore Ayla Erickson received the team’s Hard Hat award for the game.
“I am kind of like the playmaker on the team,” Erickson said. “So I think that is one thing I try and do well, switch the ball and give us opportunities. I think we did a really good job today just keeping positive and staying in the game. I try to do a pretty good job of getting the ball out of the air without letting it bounce first, so headers is a good thing I do well.”
Freshman Hailey Romero took five shots for JDHS, Erickson four, Wheeler, Tagsip and Simonson two each, and Schultz and freshman Maddie Dale one apiece. Senior keeper Tearamae Alexander had four saves in goal.
Wheeler, Simonson, Schultz, Stowers, Tagsip and Lindoff played all 80 minutes, Erickson 78, junior Kate Bovitz 77, Dale 62, Romero 48, junior Clairee Overson 37, P. Blackgoat Diehl 13, sophomore Gracie Snyder and freshman Maya Mothershead eight apiece and freshman Amaya Henderson two.
The JDHS girls are now on top of the Railbelt Conference with a 5-1 record and are 8-2 overall. Wasilla is 3-1-1 (9-3-2 overall), Colony 4-3 (7-4 overall), West Valley 3-3-1 (3-4-1 overall) and Lathrop 0-7 (0-8 overall). JDHS plays at Wasilla next weekend.
“We just focus on us and look to improve each time we step on the pitch, whether it is in practice or games,” Dusenberry said. “This set of games we just played had a couple things we will try to tweak in practice this week before we head up to Anchorage.”
The top three teams from the RBC advance to the state tournament — which will be held at Matanuska-Susitna Valley schools Colony, Palmer, Wasilla — along with the top four from the Cook Inlet Conference and one at-large berth. The teams are seeded at state via RPI, an equation that takes into account a team’s record against eligible DI/DII games, and winning percentages of opponents played and their opponents played.
The Crimson Bears girls currently have an RPI that places them third among Division I teams behind South Anchorage (CIC) and Chugiak (CIC) and ahead of Dimond (CIC), Wasilla (RBC), Colony (RBC), Service (CIC), West Valley (RBC), West Anchorage (CIC), Eagle River (CIC), Lathrop (RBC), East Anchorage (CIC) and Bartlett (CIC).
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
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