What loomed as showdowns for Southside soccer supremacy settled into stalemates Thursday.
The Service High girls, two-time defending state champions, lost their untarnished record when South High's Hannah Papa forged the equalizer that delivered the Wolverines a 2-2 Cook Inlet Conference tie at Anchorage Football Stadium.
Earlier on the same pitch of artificial turf, Service's boys used a second-half rally to generate a 1-1 tie with South, which has merely won four state championships in the last five seasons.
On the girls front, Service entered unbeaten and untied in nine matches -- that streak included a 1-0 win over South -- and ranked No. 23 in the nation in the ESPN Rise Fab 50.
South finally put a dent in Service's record in a game that was marked by frequent collisions and physical jostling around the ball, not to mention the occasional hard tackle.
"We really don't like each other, basically,'' said Service sophomore Taylor Bomar.
Bomar gave the Cougars their only lead of the night, 2-1, when she unleashed a startling blast in the 13th minute of the second half. Stationed on the left side, Bomar cranked off a 35-yard laser that seared the top right corner of the net.
Undaunted, the Wolverines kept attacking and didn't need much time to return to even footing.
"There was plenty of time left,'' Papa said. "We just needed to stay calm.''
About 11 minutes after Bomar's go-ahead strike, Papa blew down the left said, ran onto a lateral pass from Bonnie Gale that zipped through traffic and unleashed a turf-hugging, left-footed strike that rolled into the right side of the net for a 2-2 tie.
While the Cougars remain the gold standard for girls soccer here, the Wolverines proved they are worthy.
"We know that they're beatable,'' Papa said.
Still, the Wolverines flirted with disappointment late in the match. In the waning seconds, Yvonne DesJarlais' splendid corner kick from the right side traveled all the way across the box to Anna Cartwright, stationed just off the left post. Cartwright sent a header across the box that hugged the goal line the whole way, so close that Bomar said "wind couldn't have blown that in.''
The demeanor of the Service players after the game -- nary a smile among them -- stood as testament to their expectations.
"A tie is like a loss to us,'' Bomar said.
South jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when Morgan Hooe accepted a crossing pass from Jordan Dinneen, settled the ball and ripped a right-footed dart just inside the left post. Service countered in the 31st minute, when Tricia Stonebraker made short run and fired a right-footed bomb inside the left post.
The deadlock in the boys game came by virtue of a pair of virtuoso strikes.
South (9-0-3) earned a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute when Michael Naylor played a throw-in from Andrew Hornak, dribbled through a couple of defenders on the right side -- "All I could see were (Service) green socks everywhere,'' he said -- and unleashed a shot to the top left corner.
The Wolverines were in position to open the scoring courtesy of goal keeper Alex Toomey, who made two excellent saves early. He counter-punched Codi Woodcock's blast in the opening moments of the game. In the 21st minute, he got his right arm down quickly to snag a back-heel deflection Service's Dane Goodman made off a corner kick.
Service drew even at 1-1 early in the second half. Just moments after Woodcock pumped a left-footed bid into the outside of the left-side netting of goal, he took an Adam Klie feed and roofed a rocket to the top left corner.
The Cougars carried play in the second half, with the wind, and their momentum, putting them in position to strike again. Some of their success stemmed from the work of defender Chanont Alvord, who several times broke up South's attack and on a few of those occasions launched the counterattack with runs through midfield.
"I personally think he's the best defender in the state,'' Naylor said.
Dimond boys 4, Chugiak 0
Alcides Thomas scored four goals in the first 24 minutes of the match Thursday night, leading Dimond to a 4-0 victory over host Chugiak in CIC boys soccer.
Thomas now has seven goals in his last four games and 12 for the season.
"The boys were playing good simple soccer," said Dimond coach John Oliver.
Oliver explained Thomas' big night as a byproduct of good team play. He said saying is the lead striker and should be the one to score if things are done properly.
"For them to get that result against a good Chugiak team, that was good," said Oliver.
Dimond girls 4, Chugiak 0
Dimond scored four times in the second half on its way to a 4-0 victory over host Chugiak in Cook Inlet Conference girls soccer on Thursday.
Dimond junior Rachel Hightower broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the 43rd minute. Sophomore Alexis Rogers scored the second goal off a corner kick.
Ariella Lewis and Jessica Todd tacked on the final two, and Taylor Barcom earned the shutout.
The Lynx came into the match in third place, just one point ahead of the Mustangs in the standings. The win earned them three points, strengthening their hold on third place.
Dimond boys 4, Chugiak 0
Alcides Thomas scored four goals in the first 24 minutes of the match Thursday night, leading Dimond to a 4-0 victory over host Chugiak in CIC boys soccer.
Thomas now has seven goals in his last four games and 12 for the season.
"The boys were playing good simple soccer," said Dimond coach John Oliver.
Oliver explained Thomas' big night as a byproduct of the good team play, saying Thomas is the lead striker for the offense and should be the one to score if things are done properly.
"For them to get that result against a good Chugiak team, that was good," said Oliver.
Eagle River girls 5, Bartlett 1
Lorianne Mordini scored three goals, propelling Eagle River to a 5-1 home victory over Bartlett Thursday night.
Bartlett opened the scoring in the CIC girls soccer match and Eagle River scored the equalizer before halftime.
Eagle River's Jackie Klecka and Kaity Bullock each contributed goals to the second-half rally.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
By DOYLE WOODY
dwoody@adn.com