|
|
As much as South's boys soccer team wanted another crack at Juneau-Douglas in the title match of the Alaska School Activities Association's state tournament, the Wolverines settled for an opening-round grudge match.
Opening match or championship, South's 2-1 victory over defending state champion Juneau on a drizzly Thursday afternoon at Anchorage Football Stadium was satisfying regardless of the round. "It feels great to get back at them, especially so early in the tournament," said South's Jon Hall, who scored the match winner in the 48th minute on Andres Tabares' assist. The win was a punch in the gut for Juneau, a soccer dynasty that has never before lost in the state tournament's opening round, according to 17-year coach Gary Lehnhart. "The tradition in this program is high," he said. "We've been in the finals every year but one since 2000." For the past three seasons, the state title match has pitted Juneau against South. And each match has been decided by one or two goals. Thursday's match featured a similar result -- one that put South into today's semifinal against the Cook Inlet Conference champion Dimond Lynx. Today's other semifinal features Wasilla and West, which advanced after beating West Valley in a shootout Thursday. With the match tied nil-nil after double overtime, West outshot West Valley 3-2. Hunter Helin fired the match-winning marker and goaltender Dylan Faber blocked 3 of 5 shots to put West one step closer to winning its first state title since 1993. "We would have rather won it in regular time," Faber said. "But whatever, we won it." In the South-Juneau match, the Crimson Bears went to their bench early when their top centerback, Jace Mason, injured his hamstring. Mason hadn't missed a minute all season, Lehnhart said. "To lose a player of his caliber was a big blow," he said. "It's sad for him to get to the big game and not get to play." Five minutes after Mason's injury, Juneau dealt with more bad news: senior defenseman Vicente Alinson hurt his knee and didn't return to the pitch. "It totally changed our rotations," Lehnhart said. South took advantage by grabbing an early 1-0 lead on sophomore Grant Warnke's goal in the 24th minute. Four minutes later, though, Juneau sophomore Max Smith booted an equalizer. "Once we got down 1-0, we just battled," Lehnhart said. But South won the war thanks to Hall, whose header from inside the box on a Tabares cross gave South a 2-1 lead. Hall said he was trying to mirror what Barcelona's Lionel Messi did against Manchester United in the Champions League title match on Wednesday. He watched Messi score on a header in the box and figured he could do the same. "I knew Andres always puts the ball in the box," Hall said. "So I figured I'd try to do what (Messi) did. "I got lucky, I guess."