The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé girls soccer team clinched a three-peat at the state tournament this weekend, amid a flurry of sports action that also saw the Thunder Mountain High School boys soccer team take first place at the state tourney and the TMHS girls team and the JDHS boys soccer teams grab the third-place ring.<\/p>\n
The weekend also brought four track and field medals home to Juneau and saw both high school baseball and softball teams advance to regional contests.<\/p>\n
JDHS girls soccer<\/strong><\/p>\n Capping a perfect season, the Crimson Bears bested the Soldotna Stars 5-1 to win the Division II title. In the process, they beat their own defensive record, conceding only four goals for the season. The feat resulted in a new state — and a new school record — which previously stood at five conceded goals for the season.<\/p>\n “Going into the tourney, we felt good,” said JDHS coach Matt Dusenberry in a phone interview Monday.<\/p>\n He noted that the team benefited from playing cross-town rival TMHS and that a road trip to the Kenai Peninsula earlier this season gave them perspective on the team’s prospects.<\/p>\n “We felt good with how we were playing,” he said. “We had a pretty good shot.”<\/p>\n The Crimson Bears are graduating eight seniors this spring, seven of whom were at the state final game in 2018 and 2019. Dusenberry said that had COVID-19 not derailed the 2020 season, the team might have been at the state tournament last year, too.<\/p>\n “You have to wonder if these seniors could have won four years in a row,” Dusenberry said. “It’s awesome to see seniors put it all together and really shine. Not just winning but really playing their best.”<\/p>\n Dusenberry said senior Taylor Bentley made a considerable contribution to the team’s success this season, particularly in the state finals.<\/p>\n