The Juneau-Douglas High School girls soccer team burned West Valley in the first round of the Alaska School Activities Association State Championships, but couldn’t keep the fire alive against South Anchorage in the second.
After winning 1-0 on Thursday, the girls lost 4-0 Friday, sending them to a third-place consolation match after press time Saturday against West Anchorage.
JDHS sophomore Malia Miller scored the lone goal Thursday from 10 yards out off an assist from Erika Holst.
“West had cleared the ball and Ally (Lindley) had collected and played it into space for Erika Holst to get and it was her and the center back. Erika did the right thing and attacked the space and got into the box. As soon as the defender started going her way, she played it back across for Malia to put it into the back of the net,” JDHS coach Matt Dusenberry said.
Dusenberry credited his team for containing West Valley standout scorer Kiara Simpson. A junior, Simpson scored 49 goals in her first two years and recorded a four-goal game during the 2017 season.
Instead of attempting to lock Simpson down completely, JDHS instead looked to deny her the ball in the first place, a strategy that panned out as the Crimson Bears held the dynamic scorer goalless.
JDHS 0, South 4
After shutting down West Valley’s attack on Thursday, the JDHS girls would be the ones held scoreless on Friday. The girls suffered a tough 4-0 loss to South Anchorage at an afternoon semifinal match.
JDHS played South twice during the regular season, losing both games by 1-0 and 5-1 scorelines.
