Crimson Bears bring heat to senior night

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls soccer team overcame the heat of the afternoon on the Adair-Kennedy pitch Tuesday and stopped the visiting Thunder Mountain Lady Falcons 2-0.

The sun was not the only opponent however as the teams agreed to playing nine versus nine on the pitch due to injuries on the TMHS side.

“Nine v. Nine sounds easy but it is actually a little harder because you are playing in the same amount of space,” JDHS coach Matt Dusenberry said. “And let’s face it, our kids are not used to playing in this heat either. Both teams are covering a lot more ground, covering a lot more space and burning a lot more energy. And then the weather affected both teams too.”

After celebrating JDHS seniors Mariah Kadinger, Angelica Rodriguez and Leni Schilling the Crimson Bears and Falcons put in some serious work in the sun.

JDHS’ Kadinger took a nice set pass from junior Cadence Plummer across the front and blasted a shot off the Falcons side post just three minutes into action.

The shot ricocheted across the box and sophomore Cerys Hudson put the rebound shot hard over the top.

JDHS held possession through most of the first half and junior Cadence Plummer put a free kick and a shot at the top of the box directly on goal half way through the first 40 minutes.

TMHS junior keeper Kaidree Hartman turned back seven shots in the first half and freshman Piper Blackgoat had a key mark on an outside JDHS run with 10 minutes left before the break.

[JDHS girls soccer senior profiles]

TMHS had a corner try by senior Kylie Morris that stood a chance but was covered by JDHS junior keeper Brielle Jones.

“Due to injury and a band concert we were missing quite a few players last night,” said TMHS coach Cindy Eriksen. “Coupled with the heat, it made for a game where the girls had to push past their limits. They created opportunities and played a solid defense. The team continues to show improvement from game to gam, which as coaches is so gratifying to see.”

JDHS junior Ruby Rivas put a corner into play that found freshman Peyton Wheeler who hit the cross bar and TMHS’ Hartman was able to secure the ball.

Hartman had a highlight stop in the opening minutes of the second half as JDHS’ Plummer hit a hard shot straight on that Hartman managed to push over the top.

The Crimson Bears broke the deadlock 12 minutes into the second half as Plummer found herself in a scrum and set the ball across to sophomore Milina Mazon for a 1-0 advantage.

“I just saw the ball,” Mazon said. “My other player was getting targeted a lot. So I saw the ball wide open and just took a shot. It was really fun. We were trying to deal with this heat, it was really hot. Just glad to see some of the seniors playing. Hopefully they will like the win.”

TMHS had three point blank scoring opportunities, one midway through the first half by senior Kaelin Tibbles, and two in the second half by senior Mackenzie Olver but help from JDHS sophomore Natalie Travis clearing the ball out saved the clean slate. Travis’ defense earned the teams’ Hard Hat Award for game play.

JDHS put their second goal in with four minutes remaining in the match as Crimson Bears freshman Peyton Wheeler dribbled a ball in and passed across the box to junior Nikki King in traffic for 2-0.

“I’m glad we were able to win,” JDHS’ Plummer said. “ I’m glad we were able to do it on senior night. I was nervous for a little bit but our team really came together in the end and scored some goals.”

Plummer noted the heat was a challenge.

“Some of us aren’t used to the heat, obviously, living in Alaska,” she said. “But we did have to push through it and even though I wasn’t playing my best my teammates had my back. We knew if we just kept going we would eventually put one in.”

JDHS will finish the regular season at Ketchikan Friday and Saturday while TMHS will finish with an Anchorage road trip.

The Crimson Bears have qualified for the state tournament May 25-27 with an unbeaten Southeast Conference record. The Falcons and Ketchikan Lady Kings, since the SEC has no region tournament, will await to see if they are selected for one of two at-large bids to the tourney.

• Contact reporter Klas Stolpe at Klas.Stolpe@juneauempire.com.

See more photos from senior night below.