Crimson Bears freshman keeper saves seniors’ state title hopes in tournament opener

As well as the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears boys upperclassmen played Thursday in their opening game of the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Soccer State Championships at Wasilla High School the season came down to freshman keeper Callen Walker.

In a penalty shootout Walker stopped the final kick of the game and assured his peers of a 1-1 (5-4) win over the Service Cougars and a place in Friday’s semifinals against West Anchorage.

JDHS coach Gary Lehnhart handed Walker the team’s Lunch Pail Award after the game saying, “It’s not about the save, it’s because you handled the pressure of this. There were numerous balls played hard and high and that is a hell of a job for a freshman…I know, that is a lot of pressure…I’ve done it three times, and the two previous freshmen didn’t do it..so way to go.”

Tied after 80 minutes at 1-1, and after two 10-minute overtimes and another two five-minute sudden-death overtimes, the match came down to a penalty shootout.

JDHS senior Kai Ciambor struck first and Service junior Brayden Fett scored as well. JDHS senior Ahmir Parker hit for 2-1 and Service senior Mason Tremarco knotted the scores again. JDHS sophomore Sonny Mazon put the Crimson Bears ahead 3-2, but Service freshman Mark Stacy tied the shots at 3-3. JDHS senior Kellen Chester earned the edge back to 4-3 and Service senior Bjorn Von Wichman hit to tie 4-4.

JDHS senior Owen Rumsey had the final pressure kick and tucked it neatly away for a 5-4 advantage and at least assuring another shootout.

That would not happen as Walker guessed the right direction on Service senior Matej Omalley and covered his kick for the 1-1 (5-4) win, saving the chance for a state title.

“I mean, that is amazing,” an emotional Walker said. “That was my first pen (penalty shootout) ever and it just felt amazing to be able to win that and I didn’t know, I didn’t think I would be able to but I persevered and I did it…the pressure was pretty much the same with each shooter, I just held my own and went through it. I did it and we won.”

The Crimson Bears had numerous opportunities to go down and stay down, but they handled each adversity with vigor.

JDHS senior Reed Maier twice took a tumble in the physical play and stood up grimacing in pain from a should injury, senior Ahmir Parker injured his ankle in the second half and battled on, senior Kai Ciambor was tripped and pushed and crushed under physical play through the evening and each of the Crimson Bears that took to the pitch went elbow-to-elbow with the Service side.

“Just power through it,” Maier said. “We can get four states in a career, for me two, and it is once in a lifetime so you have to work and just go through it…It was definitely painful, a lot of work, but I’m happy we came out on top, especially in the fashion that we did, getting that goal with two minutes left.”

Service had taken a 1-0 first-half lead on a score by the Cougars’ Stacy that was knocked about in the JDHS box before finding a way in.

That first half featured numerous defensive gems by both teams. Walker notched three saves in the first 40 minutes and another four in the second.

The second half began with JDHS’ Ciambor just missing a shot wide and Parker high and another shot hitting the football goalpost and being ruled dead.

JDHS sophomore Erick Thompson stopped a key shot in the box. The defense of seniors Ryan Thibodeau, Rumsey, Chester, Maier, junior Elliot Welch and freshman Troy Edgar, among many others, gave the Crimson Bears possession numerous times.

With two minutes left in stoppage time JDHS earned a throw in and the ball was kept up by Thompson and Maier, and the Crimson Bears pressure forced a mishandled ball by Service junior Cameron Hickman and a Cougars own goal tied the match at 1-1.

“We’ve been working on those situations,” JDHS coach Lehnhart said. “We just threw everybody at it.”

After 10 minutes of extra time the teams changed sides and played 10 more minutes, then went to a five-minute sudden-death period and then another before the penalty shootout ended the night.

JDHS’ Ciambor was named the Crimson Bears Player of the Game by ASAA and Service’s Tremarco earned the honor for the Cougars.

“Honestly, if I am being completely honest, this Player of the Game should not have gone to me,” Ciambor said. “Our freshman, Callen Walker, had the best goalkeeping game I think I have seen in my life. The amount of pressure as a freshman to come into games like this, especially coming into DI state which is just a whole other beast when compared to DII, and to do what he did is insane. Like I have never seen anything like it. I am so thankful for him. We were on our heels a lot of that game and the team, altogether rallied. I’m so happy for Callen, it’s a great moment for him…could not be happier.”

JDHS’ Rumsey not only hit one of the penalty kicks, but was a standout defensively and noted the team embraced the challenge.

“I’m excited we won, I guess I’ll start with that,” Rumsey said. “I really like our move to DI more than DII. In this game I was defending some of the best players in the league and I like that each team I play is a new challenge. You kind of have to learn how to defend them and by the end hopefully I have figured it out, I try to most of the time. It’s fun. I love playing back there. It’s just a challenge really.”

JDHS’ Thibodeau also commented on the challenge.

“The one guy I was on most of the night (senior Bjorn Von Wichman) was a little bit faster than me,” he said. “So it was hard for me to move back and forth, and to limit his movement, and it really took it out of me.”

JDHS will now play at 7 p.m. Friday in a state semifinal against No. 3 seed West Anchorage, a 4-0 winner over No. 6 seed Wasilla. They will play at Colony High School.

In the other half of the bracket No. 1 seed Colony defeated No. 8 seed South 2-1 and No. 5 West Valley topped No. 4 seed Dimond 2-1. Colony will face West Valley in a semifinal at Wasilla High School.

In the DII boys state tournament play the No. 2 seeded Ketchikan boys defeated No. 7 Houston 5-0 and will play a semifinal against No. 3 Palmer (a 5-0 winner of No. 6 Homer) and No. 1 Soldotna (a 3-0 winner over No. 8 North Pole) will face No. 4 Kenai (a 3-0 winner over No. 5 Monroe).

In the DII girls state tournament the No. 7 Kayhi Kings fell to No. 2 Soldotna 1-0 and will play an elimination game against No. 3 Palmer. Kenai faces Monroe and Sohi faces Homer in girls semifinals.

In DI girls semifinals No. 1 Dimond faces No. 5 Colony and No. 3 Wasilla plays No. 2 South.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.