Seward teams lose soccer series to Soldotna

LIZZY SUTPHIN

May 15, 2008 at 1:34PM AKST

Seward High School Seahawks hosted four soccer games against the Soldotna High School Stars May 6.

For more than six hours fans watched as their home team athletes played their hearts out even though Soldotna, a 4A school, swept the series.

Girls’ varsity started the day off with a fabulous first half. Only one goal was scored on them, and Coach Myla Liljemark announced to her team that it was the best goalkeeping Samara Johnson had showed all year.

Unfortunately, during the second half the team struggled, and Soldotna scored five more goals. The ball tended to linger in the defender’s end of the field, allowing the defensive line, especially Tarrah Beals and Sophie Romero, to run and play their hardest.

The midfielders were also forced on the move, helping out the defenders by hanging back, and when the ball traveled toward the other team’s field, were instantly on it. Though they lost, the girls walked off the field proud of their efforts.

The boys’ varsity game followed, and they too played hard. While their first half wasn’t run well, the team pulled it together in the second half and focused on playing tough.
Goalie Josh Zimmerman put in numerous saves, while captains Alan Logan and Andy Cloward did a good job directing their team. In the end, the guys lost the game but not their team pride or playing abilities.

The girls JV team played after the guys, and even though it was their first game, played well. Two of their toughest players were Sara Kellar and Kristina Atherton, who held her ground whether she was defending her own turf or pushing the ball past the other team’s defenders.

Kellar, however, was only able to show her skills during part of the game. After a collision with another girl, she was pulled off the field with a gash above her eye requiring five stitches. Nicole Hewitt and Tyler Washburn glowed with excellent playing in the goal box too.

The game showed tremendous improvement in all JV players since their first practice, a trend that will hopefully continue to throughout the season.

The boys JV ended the day. Since the JV and varsity teams are comprised mostly of the same players, most were still exhausted from their first game. Freshmen James Logan and Nathan Feemster got in a lot of playing time, and all of the guys were forced to run and play hard. Despite their fatigue, they put up a good effort.

Although Seward didn’t manage to score during the four games, each team still played well. The soccer season is quickly winding down and will be over by the end of this coming week, unless any Seward teams make it to regions.

Lizzy Sutphin is a senior at Seward High School who is writing about high school life and sports articles for The Log for her senior volunteer project.