The visiting Ketchikan High School Kings soccer teams gave no quarter at Friday night’s battles against both boys and girls Thunder Mountain High School teams, blanking the Falcons at home in both games.
Falcons girls 0, Lady Kings 1
The Falcons girls held their own against the Lady Kings, and nearly equalized with several late-game chances on net, but couldn’t put the tying goal through on the Lady Kings largely due to the heroic efforts of Ketchikan midfielder Sarah Cool.
Cool had the two big plays of the game for the Kings. She put the winning goal through with style in the first half, and came through huge on the defensive end in the second half, clearing the tying shot off the goal line with ten minutes left.
When asked what was working for his team, Ketchikan coach Neil Kinunen had one answer: “Sarah Cool. She was everywhere, dominating the midfield.” Kinunen added that his team had good control, and was patient on the ball.
Though the game was largely a defensive struggle, Cool’s lone score was a stunner. She sent a screamer from the top left corner of the 18-yard box across goal and into the top right corner of TMHS’ goal, leaving no chance for a save.
TMHS’ coaches instructed their players to play with desperation in the last 15 minutes, leading to the most a productive period for the Falcon’s offense as they had multiple looks in front of Ketchikan’s net.
TMHS forward Anna Rivest scissor-kicked a shot off Kayhi’s crossbar that bounced down and almost across the goal line with just minutes to go.
“The goalie was at the top of the box and it was a wide-open goal,” Rivest said. “I took a scissor (kick) and it just hit the crossbar. … We practice for those finishes and it was pretty frustrating to have it hit the crossbar. … We really wanted that goal in the last 15 minutes.”
Falcons coach Tim Lewis said he was proud of his team’s work, and that they did everything they could to win.
“We did every single thing we’ve been practicing,” Lewis said. “We had shots on goal, shots off the post, shots off the crossbar, shots just to the left and right. Once again we had a great shot at the end but Sarah Cool cleared it off the line. My girls did everything we asked them to do but we just couldn’t put it into the net.”
The Falcons girls play next at Palmer, North Pole and Lathrup on a three-game road trip next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Falcons boys 0, Kings 4
The Falcons boys played a bigger and older Kings side on Friday night, succumbing to Kayhi’s superior height and control to the tune of a 0-4 shutout.
Ketchikan’s Sam Weston scored their first goal off an assist from brother Henning Weston right before halftime.
The Kings’ Izaac Jensen scored from the air for their second, heading a corner kick in off the right post with 27 minutes left in the second half.
Radek Radzilowski scored their third, bodying in a cross from Rudy Pankow.
Radzilowski felt his team implemented a good game plan.
“We’ve been trying to do quick one-twos, switching the ball around field,” Radzilowski said. “After we got the first goal, our confidence got a boost.”
Radzilowski added that his team needed to work their transitions from offense to defense.
TMHS coach Tim Lewis saw some good passing out of his young squad.
“Ketchikan is a very tough, physical team,” Lewis said. “In the second half we just got tired.”
The Falcons boys play next at West Valley, Lathrup and North Pole on a three-game road trip next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
