Juneau-Douglas girls soccer team stays undefeated
Crimson Bears haven't allowed a goal in five consecutive contests
The Juneau-Douglas High School girls soccer team continued to flex their defensive muscles with a pair of shutouts in Anchorage.
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The Crimson Bears extended their shutout streak to five games with Friday's 5-0 win over East Anchorage and a 0-0 draw against South on Saturday. JDHS (8-0-2) hasn't allowed a goal in 475 minutes of play.
"It's a team effort," JDHS co-coach Sandi Wagner said. "One of the strengths on our defense is that our defense slows them down and our midfield helps."
While Saturday's scoreless draw snapped Juneau-Douglas' five-game winning streak, the Crimson Bears have yet to lose this season.
Against the Wolverines, currently first in the Cook Inlet Conference, JDHS needed to dig deep to keep from losing its first game.
South outshot JDHS 17-8 in the win, but goalkeeper Kayla Walton stepped up to the challenge. Walton made nine saves and hasn't allowed a goal since the fifth minute against West Valley on April 15.
"We could not combat their defense," Wagner said. "They were quick. We had some good shots but they were just inches away from where it could go in or not. South is tough, and they had a lot more shots than us. They had a lot more offensive prowess than us but our defense held strong."
Juneau-Douglas had no problem scoring on Friday in a 5-0 rout of East.
Margaret Sekona scored twice in the first half while Sarah Christianson and Marita Rodriguez added assists for JDHS.
In the second half, Talisa Rhea headed in a corner kick from Rachel Tarver in the 51st minute. Gretchen Dierking later added a goal while Christianson contributed a goal and an assist in the second half.
Brittany Lehnhart also had an assist in the win.
East managed just two shots to Juneau's 25 as Walton didn't need to make a save in the win.
"We didn't play great, but we played better than we did the day before," Wagner said of Thursday's 3-0 win over West.
JDHS heads back north next week for a pair of games. The Crimson Bears will visit Colony and Wasilla starting on Wednesday.
• Tim Nichols, sports editor, can be reached at sports@juneauempire.com