Pregame warm up tunes of contemporary hip hop were replaced with shrieks of agony in the second half of Tuesday night’s game between the Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain girls soccer teams.
With the JDHS up 1-0 late against Thunder Mountain at the Falcons’ field, senior JDHS midfielder Ally Lindley collided with Raye Coffee before going down awkwardly on her left arm. It soon became clear that her injury was no sprain as teammates and volunteers assembled ice packs and splints for Lindley, in deep distress with what was undoubtedly a broken arm.
A somber Matt Dusenberry, who awarded Lindley the team’s “hard hat” recognition for her hustle, was still processing the news after the game despite her senior’s positive attitude about the ordeal.
“She was more concerned with what the score still was when she was in the ambulance,” the coach said.
The game began on a much more positive note for the Crimson Bears. Senior Georgia Robinson, left open off the left post in the 10th minute, made a clean strike on a ball that beat Falcon goalkeeper Lannea Sutak nearside.
Thunder Mountain co-coach John Newell said Robinson’s goal was partly due to an incomplete scouting report on the Crimson Bears.
“We were not defending Georgia, we were defending against Malia [Miller] and Michaela [Bentley] and so we let Georgia run free and that’s someone we’ll cover next time. Other than that, the defense played exactly how I asked them to play.”
Miller and Bentley provided the bulk of the Crimson Bears’ shots on Sutak. Elissa Koyuk also put stress on the Falcons defense, making several nice dribbles up field throughout the game.
It appeared Bentley would add to Crimson Bears lead midway through the second half. The sophomore midfielder perfectly headed a corner kick toward the right post, but Falcons’ Anna Rivest, standing along the goal line, booted the ball away.
The game was stopped for 15 minutes following Lindley’s painful misfortune. As players on each bench rehashed what they saw, the ones on the field sat in mixed clusters of white and black as a sign of solidarity as their friend and teammate was given first aid and helped off the field.
“Everybody on both teams, all the coaches, every body knows [Lindley], has gone on trips with her. To have that happen to her is a big blow to everybody, because she’s such a great player,” TMHS co-coach John Newell said.
The Falcons and Crimson Bears will play each other three more times this season. Coach Newell says both the Juneau girls teams are fairly evenly matched, and neither team can afford to take the other softly.
“We pretty much knew that JDHS was going to have a good team, we just didn’t know quite where we were at,” Newell said. “Now we know we can play with them.”
The two Juneau teams remaining games against one another occur April 24, May 9 and May 16. JDHS hosts Ketchikan Friday at 7:45 p.m. and Saturday at 6:45 p.m. at Adair Kennedy Field as TMHS sits idle. Both squads will welcome South Anchorage next week for their respective two-game home series against the Wolverines.
Juneau-Douglas girls season outlook
After combining for 27 goals last season on junior varsity, Brianna Jokerst and Michaela Bentley are posed to fill the scoring void on varsity left by Amber White, Rylee Landen and Maddie McKeown.
Last year’s trio of seniors accounted for over half the scoring on a Crimson Bears team that went 13-4 and finished fourth at the state tournament. Sophomore Malia Miller will also be a major force for JDHS, who scored eigth goals last season. Erika Holst will be another likely goal scorer for JDHS.
After Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Thunder Mountain, it looks as if the Falcons will be a much tougher opponent this season. The Crimson Bears outscored their Region V opponents (TMHS and Ketchikan) 35-2 last year.
Thunder Mountain girls season outlook
If Tuesday’s game against JDHS was any indication, there isn’t much disparity in skill between the two Juneau high school soccer teams like last season.
Rejoining the Falcons this season after a year abroad is junior captain Azure Briggs. She will team up with eight — yes, eight — other juniors to help right the ship.
Freshmen midfielder Makenna Graham and freshman goaltender Lanae Lutak already appear to be off to promising careers with TMHS.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
Juneau-Douglas’ Erika Holst, right, competes against Thunder Mountain’s Meghan Penrose for the ball during their match at TMHS on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Juneau-Douglas won 1-0. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Mauricio Hernandez, left, Riley Lawlar, Miguel Cordero and Carl Tupou of the Thunder Mountain HIgh School boys soccer team gives the girls varsity team their support during their match against Juneau-Douglas High School at TMHS on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Juneau-Douglas won 1-0. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Thunder Mountain’s goalie Lannea Sutak hides the ball from Juneau-Douglas’ Erika Holst at TMHS on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Juneau-Douglas won 1-0. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
