Dimond fends off Service in state soccer tournament

Sam Berdahl scored from close range in the 55th minute and Martin Martinez ripped a 25-yard strike from the right wing in the 73rd minute.

"I thought it was the most entertaining game of the day," said Service coach Dan Rufner.

In other boys tournament action, West Valley blanked Grace Christian 2-0, South notched a 2-0 win over Wasilla and defending state champion Juneau beat Colony 3-1.

Dimond's match-winning goal came when Berdahl capitalized on a broken play. After the ball rattled around between several players from both teams, Berdahl found the ball at his feet on the left wing and crossed it into the right side of the goal.

"I kind of scavenged for one," he said. "Unlucky play for them. They tried to clear it a couple times, but it kept coming back in."

Dimond's second goal came on a shot Martinez said he normally wouldn't take. He was far from the net when he received a throw-in and he defied his instincts by letting fly with a perfect shot that found the upper left netting.

"Everyone was yelling 'Shoot!' " he said.

Service had its own opportunity to score from long range when Eli Seymour blasted a 20-yard shot with four minutes left in the first half. The ball ricocheted off the right post and rebounded toward midfield.

"You could tell it hit the inside of the post, because it stayed in play," Rufner said.

Had the ball gone a few inches to the left and gone in, it would have changed the match, Seymour said.

"I think it would have set Dimond back a lot," he said.

Service completely controlled the first half, barely allowing Dimond a sniff of a scoring opportunity.

"Our keeper didn't touch the ball for the first 30 minutes," said Rufner. "It's nice to finish the season on a high note."

Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.

West Val. 2, Grace 0

West Valley ended Grace Christian's dreams of a state championship by scoring twice in the final five minutes for a 2-0 victory at Chugiak.

Luke Carson, a senior, put the Wolfpack on the scoreboard with five minutes left. His brother, sophomore Jacob Carson, added an insurance goal two minutes later by heading a rebound into the net.

Goalkeeper Taran Firor stopped all eight shots by the Grizzlies, the lone Class 3A team to qualify for the state tournament.

South 2, Wasilla 0

Trent Sanders chalked up his 16th shutout of the season in South's 2-0 blanking of Wasilla at Chugiak.

Andrew Hornak spotted the Wolverines to an early 1-0 lead by scoring in the seventh minute and almost the entire match unfolded before South scored again. Max Mills gave his team breathing room by scoring on a cross from Kirby Hutto in the 78th minute.

Juneau 3, Colony 1

Defending state champion Juneau-Douglas got goals from Rhett Bennett, Riley Paul and Andy Lawson to stifle Colony 3-1 at Dimond.

Bennett broke open a scoreless match by scoring on a through ball from Nathan Fosket in the 15th minute. Paul's goal gave the Crimson Bears a 2-0 halftime lead and Lawson's goal, coming on a throw-in by Jackson Lehnhart, made it 3-0.