The Kenai Central girls and Juneau-Douglas: Yadaa.at Kale boys soccer teams won tournament titles Saturday.
The Kardinals girls defeated Soldotna 1-0 to win the Homer Soccer Tournament, while the Crimson Bears boys defeated Palmer 2-1 to win the Kenai Invitational Cup.
Also in Homer, the Homer girls defeated Houston 8-0 for third place, the Nikiski girls defeated Palmer 3-2 on penalty kicks for fifth place, and Kodiak defeated Redington 2-0 for seventh place.
At Kenai, the Soldotna boys topped the Kards 2-1 on penalty kicks for third place and the Homer boys defeated Kodiak 3-1 for fifth place.
Kenai girls 1, Soldotna 0
The Kardinals had a goal in the second half to improve to 5-0-0 overall and drop the Stars to 2-2-0 overall. The goal came from Kylee Verkuilen on a penalty kick.
“The Kenai ladies had a good game both offensively and defensively,” Kenai head coach Dan Verkuilen wrote in a text message.
Soldotna boys 2, Kenai 1, SO
The Stars won a tight game to move to 2-1-1 and drop the Kardinals to 3-2-1.
The game was scoreless at the half.
“I think we had the bulk of the possession in the first half, but couldn’t put any of our chances away,” SoHi coach Erik Dolphin wrote in a text message. “They had a few chances on the counterattack, but we handled them pretty well.”
Dolphin said the second half was then even on possession and chances. With six minutes left, SoHi’s Simon Willets was fouled in the box and made his penalty kick.
In stoppage time, Bridger Beck was able to tie if off a corner kick for Kenai.
“Guys faced adversity and worked hard to get level again, speaks volumes for the team,” Kenai coach Shane Lopez wrote in a text message.
Soldotna then won the five-round penalty kick session 4-3, with Willets providing the decisive score.
“We should have won the game in regular time and got lucky to win in PKs,” Dolphin wrote.
Homer girls 8, Houston 0
The Mariners evened their record at 2-2-0 as Felicia Weisser recorded a shutout.
Talia Weisser and Lauren Harris each found the back of the net twice for the Mariners, while Minadora Reutov, Regan Baker, Goldie Hill and Lily King added goals.
Nikiski girls 3, Palmer 2, SO
After collecting their first win since 2019 on Friday, the 2-1-0 Bulldogs are now on a two-game winning streak.
Behind goals from Savanna Stock and Zoey Ellis, the teams were tied at the end of regulation, sending the game to the shootout.
In the first round of five, both Palmer and Nikiski had one goal. The Bulldogs won the shootout after that, with Brooke Abel and Stock scoring in the shootout. Emma Weeks got the victory in net for the Bulldogs.
Homer 3, Kodiak 1
The Mariners evened their record at 2-2-0 by defeating the Bears for the second straight day.
“I would like to say thank you to Kodiak,” Homer coach Adam Diaz wrote in a text message. “We learned a lot and grew as a team. I wish them the best going forward.”
Niko Sulczynski had a hat trick for Homer, with assists coming from Jake Tappan, Lucas Story and Spencer Dye.
“Our goal was to take off from the start and keep our communication and composure in our hands,” Diaz wrote. “We look forward to SoHi.”
All-tournament teams
Homer Soccer Tournament — Kylee Verkuilen, Kenai; Leah Roberts, Palmer; Savanna Stock, Nikiski; Liberty Miller, Soldotna; Anna Whitted, Houston; Felicia Weisser, Homer; Grace Gillespie, Houston; Avery White, Nikiski; Morgan Lemm, Soldotna; Izzy Dye, Homer; Goldie Hill, Homer.
Kenai Invitational Cup — Kai Ciamber, Juneau; Michael Larson, Palmer; Fisher Adams, Palmer; Wade James, Kenai; Gabe Cheng, Juneau; Enrique Mercado, Kenai; Tayten Bennetsen, Juneau; Gehret Medcoff, Soldotna; Owen Pitzman, Homer; Kellen Chester, Juneau; Aloshia Cross, Kenai.
