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Battling less than ideal conditions and an unfamiliar opponent, the undefeated South Wolverines shut out Wasilla 3-0 in the opening round of the state soccer championships Thursday at Service High.
The game was played on a turf field dampened by rain and hail earlier in the afternoon. The Wolverines played against the wind in the first half, while the Warriors contended with gusts after the break.
South sophomore Katie Lulay started the scoring a little more than 10 minutes in — the only goal of the first half. Carin Currier powered the ball through a maze of red defenders and found her teammate in the box.
"… I wasn't expecting it to go through," Lulay said.
The Wolverines made it 2-0 early in the second half with a similar play. This time, Lulay polished off a cross from forward Jordan Foraker.
"I'm just able to get it when my team is able to set me up," Lulay said.
Lulay, a second-team Cook Inlet Conference selection, wasn't the only player spreading credit following the win. South senior goaltender Erin McLeod, whose shutout was preserved by a heads-up play by defender Alison Green, also issued post-game gratitude to her teammates.
"I call them my feet-keepers because it's not just me getting the shutout, it's the whole team," McLeod said.
All four of Thursday's winners posted shutouts. Defending state champion Dimond cruised past Kenai Central 4-0, West edged Colony 1-0 and Juneau slipped past West Valley 1-0.
Wasilla made a bid to spoil South's shutout in the second half. The Warriors sent three forwards on the attack, generating more chances for shots on net despite the headwind.
With 10 minutes to go, Wasilla freshman forward Reese Sande found space and made a move around the final defender. McLeod came out to challenge the shot but was faked out by Sande, who lost control of the ball long enough for Green to get back and chest the ball out of bounds.
"I over-committed on that chance," McLeod said. "Luckily (Green) was behind me.
"She was my feet-keeper, or chest-keeper — anything besides the hand-keeper."
Foraker, a first-team CIC pick, sealed the victory moments later with her second point of the afternoon. Teammate Ally Monrean found Foraker in the middle, and Foraker whistled a shot underneath the crossbar.
The shutout was still in jeopardy during stoppage time. Sande fired a powerful shot that McLeod tipped up, nicking the crossbar. McLeod turtled the loose ball to keep it out.
The meeting was the first of the season between the Warriors and Wolverines, who weren't able to play earlier in the season because of The Dome's collapse in January. The loss of the facility meant Wasilla didn't get to play many Anchorage teams, coach Patrick O'Neill said.
"We lost a lot of Anchorage teams in the schedule. Our strength of schedule wasn't what I wanted it to be," O'Neill said.
"We hadn't really played a team like that that spreads it out a lot like that."
Still, O'Neill is optimistic for next year. The Warriors will lose three seniors — Ally Hull, Alia Donley and Olivia Matson, all of whom will play soccer, hockey or both in college — but should return a solid core of players.
"We start four freshmen and two sophomores, so we're excited about the future." O'Neill said. "… The club program in the Valley is really developing some strong players."
In other first-round action, Dimond opened defense of its title with a dominating performance. The Lynx took a 2-0 first-half lead on goals from forward Kylie Judd and defender Calee Stark, who struck from inside the box off of a Alison Shafer pass.
They padded their lead in the second half with goals from Kelsey Eagle and Madeleine LaPorte.
In West's 1-0 win over Colony, freshman midfielder Skylar Helgeson provided the lone goal.
ASAA/First National Bank soccer championships
Thursday's scores
Dimond 4, Kenai Central 0
West 1, Colony 0
Juneau 1, West Valley 0
South 3, Wasilla 0
Friday's games
Semifinals at Service
Noon – Dimond vs. West
4 p.m. – South vs. Juneau
Consolation games at Eagle River
Noon – Kenai Central vs. Colony
4 p.m. – West Valley vs. Wasilla