Juneau’s prep soccer teams might not be squaring off with one another this season.
The ASAA/First National Bank Alaska state championships begin today in Anchorage, and for the first time, the boys and girls teams at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaat.at Kalé and Thunder Mountain High School will appear in them together.
“It just really shows you the level of play that we’ve developed over the years from not just Parks and Rec, but from our middle school to our high school programs,” TMHS girls soccer coach John Newell said. “This all stems from the Juneau Soccer Club and the kids that we’re coaching there that are eventually advancing to the high school level.”
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The JDHS boys (10-3-1) and JDHS girls (16-1-0) are the No. 1 seeds in their respective tournaments after placing first in the Southeast Conference. The TMHS squads each qualified by nabbing one of two at-large berths, which were awarded based on a set of criteria that ranked teams 1-8. Only six teams qualified per tournament last year, and the top seeds (like the JDHS girls) were given a first-round bye.
“It does seem kind of like an unfair advantage to be the No. 1 seed and then get an extra day of rest,” JDHS girls coach Matt Dusenberry. “So at least we’re all on a level playing field where you got to win three games to win the state tournament.”
In addition to it being the first time all four Juneau teams will appear in the state tournament, it’s the Thunder Mountain boys team’s first and girls team’s third-ever respective appearances.
Coach Newell has been impressed with the Falcons’ progress this season. After being outscored 13-0 by JDHS in their first two games, TMHS started to turn things around, beginning with a 3-1 win over Ketchikan in mid-April.
“I watched the girls string about six passes together all inside the 18, right around the goal area of Ketchikan and it resulted in a shot on goal,” Newell said of their first win over Ketchikan. “We didn’t score off it, but I was less concerned with them scoring off it and more impressed with the fact that they became comfortable with the ball, passed it around and were looking for the right opportunity.”
Newell said he took great delight in informing his team they made the cut on Sunday while leaving Ketchikan, where they beat the Lady Kings 1-0 Friday and 2-0 Saturday.
“You could just see the look of astonishment and pride on the girls’ faces that they’d done it,” Newell said. “That was our big accomplishment and goal was to make state.”
Today’s first-round matchups for the Division II boys tournament will be No. 1 JDHS vs. No. 8 Palmer, No. 2 Kenai vs. No. 7 Grace Christian, No. 3 Homer vs. No. 6 Ketchikan and No. 4 Monroe Catholic vs. No. 5 Thunder Mountain.
Today’s first-round matchups for the Division II girls tournament will feature No. 1 JDHS vs. No. 8 Kodiak, No. 2 Soldotna vs. No. 7 Palmer, No. 3 Homer vs. No. 6 Thunder Mountain and No. 4 Kenai vs. No. 5 North Pole.
Service, West Anchorage and Eagle River high schools will host the action.
The NFHS Network will livestream the championship games at nfhsnetwork.com/associations/asaa. Results will be posted to asaa365.com.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com. Follow Empire Sports on Twitter at @akempiresports.
