{"id":45640,"date":"2019-03-31T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/2019-soccer-preview-seniors-key-to-ambitious-juneau-douglas-teams\/"},"modified":"2019-04-02T08:21:31","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T16:21:31","slug":"2019-soccer-preview-seniors-key-to-ambitious-juneau-douglas-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/2019-soccer-preview-seniors-key-to-ambitious-juneau-douglas-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 Soccer Preview: Seniors key to ambitious Juneau-Douglas teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
It’s hard to say what’s more impressive when talking about the Juneau-Douglas girls soccer senior class: the level of success they maintained last season, or the level of success they could have in their final season together.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Despite there being only one senior on varsity last year, the squad set a new program record for fewest goals allowed (5), went 13-1-2 and won its second-ever state championship.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“I’m just excited right now to see what they can do because it is a big senior group that has played together since they were little kids,” JDHS coach Matt Dusenberry said. “I was part of that in (Juneau Soccer) Club. It’s a pretty smart group of kids. It will be fun to watch and see how things turn out for them as long they keep working.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Both Shaylin Cesar and Malia Miller rose to the top or near the top of statistical categories. Cesar moved into first place in career shutouts, and Miller became the second-highest scorer in JDHS history.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
When asked what drives them this season, you might be surprised that winning another state championship isn’t the first thing on their minds.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“I think our goal should be to beat the teams from Anchorage that are in the higher division than other teams in Southeast or in small schools division,” Miller said. “That’s really our top goal because we’re playing South (Anchorage) and they’re supposed to be really good this year.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The Alaska School Activities Association broke soccer up into two classifications prior to last season. Now, JDHS and over a dozen other smaller schools with enrollments below 850 students play in the Division II classification, while Anchorage and Fairbanks schools play in Division I.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
When the team won the inaugural Division II state championship, the players had mixed feelings about it. If they were going to be crowned state champions, JDHS wanted it to validate they were the best team in the state. But because they didn’t have to play against some of their old competition, it left the players with an unsettled feeling that can only be rooted out one way.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“If we beat the other Anchorage teams that are in D1, I think it just shows them that we can still compete against them even if we’re not in the same division anymore,” senior Michaela Bentley said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Here’s a look at the rest of Juneau’s soccer teams.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Thunder Mountain boys<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Last season: 1-11-1; 0-7-1 Southeast.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Top Players: Marc Manlulu, MF, Sr. Alan Plosay, GK, Sr. Kiernan Kollar, D, Sr.; Jake Babcock, utility, Sr.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Outlook: Thunder Mountain’s 2018 record isn’t pretty, but it also doesn’t tell the whole story of last season. In fact, the Falcons provided worthy competition to the Division II state champion — Kenai — and runner-up — Juneau-Douglas. TMHS scored the first two goals in a 4-2 loss to the Kardinals<\/a>, and scored the final two goals in a 2-2 tie with the Crimson Bears<\/a>. The latter result marked the first non-loss to JDHS in program history. A large and experienced senior class that includes standout midfielder Marc Manlulu and goalkeeper Alan Plosay should have this team trending in the right direction this year.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Coach Josh Odum: “Our focus is on getting the ball moving rather than trying to dribble through people. Game-wise, there’s no reason why we can’t tie or beat Ketchikan and we’re looking for strong, competitive games against JD.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Juneau-Douglas boys<\/strong><\/p>\n