All of the Kenai Peninsula’s soccer teams won Friday, with the Kenai, Homer and Nikiski girls and boys winning at Soccerfest, and the Soldotna girls and boys winning over North Pole in nonconference games in Anchorage.
At the girls Soccerfest tournament at Redington, Homer and Kenai moved to the final with victories, while Nikiski won to move to the fourth-place match. The final is at 4 p.m. Saturday, while Nikiski plays at noon against Palmer.
The Kenai girls won 8-0 against Houston to move to 5-1-1 overall, with Maddie Malone notching the shutout.
The Kardinals led 5-0 after the first half, with Brynnen Hanson scoring unassisted, Kylee Verkuilen, Tait Cooper and Danica Swafford setting up another Hanson goal, Kate Wisnewski scoring unassisted, Hanson scoring again unassisted for a hat trick, and Wisnewski scoring on a direct kick.
In the second half, Katie Johnson scored unassisted, Wisnewski finished her hat trick on an assist from Verkuilen, and Isabel McClure scored unassisted.
Homer defeated Thunder Mountain 2-0 to move to 4-1-1 overall. Talia Weisser and Katelyn Marroquin had the goals. Homer lost to Kenai 5-1 on April 20 after drawing at 1 with the Kards on April 16.
“Played a bit better than yesterday, which is all I can ask,” Homer coach Mike Tozzo wrote in a text message. “We will see what tomorrow brings against Kenai. Hopefully we show up and there’s not a repeat of March 20, 2024. I don’t think it would end well for us if that’s the case.”
The Nikiski girls defeated Kodiak in a shootout for their first win of the season in five tries. The score was tied at 2 after regulation, with the Bulldogs getting goals from Maddy Iyatunguk and Zoey Ellis. In the shootout, Wynter Yeager and Ashlynne Playle scored for Nikiski, while Emma Weeks posted a shutout in the shootout.
At the boys Soccerfest at Houston, Kenai and Homer moved to the final with victories, while Nikiski advanced to the fourth-place match.
The Kardinals topped Kodiak 1-0 to move to 4-2-0. Aloshia Cross had the goal for Kenai, while Bradley Morrison had the shutout in net, stopping a penalty kick. Kenai coach Shane Lopez texted that Enrique Mercado, Trae Pitsch, Cole Langham and Cross did great work in the midfield.
The Homer boys beat Houston 5-3 to move to 4-1-0 overall. Brady Shealy and Spencer Dye each had two goals for the Mariners, while Kai Waltenbaugh added a tally.
The Nikiski boys defeated Colony JV in a shootout for their first win in five tries. The game was tied at 1 after regulation, with Nikiski picking up a goal from Jacob Martin. The Bulldogs then won the penalty shootout 3-0 on goals by Kazu Yukawa, Kevin Love and Martin.
The Soldotna girls topped the Patriots 3-2 to move to 4-0-0 overall. Jillian Duncan had a pair of goals for SoHi, the first assisted by Sadie Lane and Emily O’Reagan, the second assisted by Teagen Kobylarz. Bay Bloom also scored unassisted.
The Soldotna boys defeated North Pole 9-2 to move to 4-0-0 overall.
Andrew Arthur piled up four more goals, scoring two unassisted, one on an assist from Jace O’Reagan and one on an assist from Lane Hillyer.
Also for SoHi, Simon Willets scored on an O’Reagan assist, Nuno Venturi scored unassisted, Harold Rudstrom scored on a Venturi assist, Hillyer scored on a Willets assist and Spencer Dahlman scored on a penalty kick.
