The Juneau-Douglas High School girls soccer team put on a show in the second half of Thursday night’s 7-0 win over visiting Ketchikan.
Sophomore Michaela Bentley and Malia Miller each scored two goals during that time. It was the Miller’s second of the half and third of the game in the 75th minute that had even the referees reminisced about as they packed up from Adair Kennedy Field.
Less than a minute after teammate Erika Holst put JDHS up 6-0, Miller decided to test her range. The sophomore pulled up from football’s 30-yard-line and blasted a shot that clipped the crossbar before going in.
“I didn’t think it was going in, I didn’t start looking at it until everyone started cheering,” Miller said.
Miller leads the team in scoring this season after two games. She’s quickly become a fan-favorite — even among both boys high school programs, many of whom watched the game cloaked in fleece blankets.
“I think the boys respect the fact the a lot of our sophomores can flat out play,” JDHS girls soccer coach Matt Dusenberry said. “They’re kicking out shots where some of the boys can’t kick shots.”
Bentley’s two goals came off shots some 80 feet or farther from the net.
“They weren’t really pressing in the middle and that’s why me and [Bentley] got off a lot of shots because they weren’t pressing us as hard as Thunder Mountain was,” Miller said
The other JDHS goal scorers included Brianna Jokerst and Erika Holst.
Bailey Wery Tagaban, Jessica Mayer and Georgia Robinson all recorded assists in the match.
Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
Ketchikan’s goalie makes a save against Juneau-Douglas’ Brianna Jokerst at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park on Thursday, April 13, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Ketchikan’s goalie makes a save against Juneau-Douglas’ Brianna Jokerst at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park on Thursday, April 13, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
