{"id":99667,"date":"2023-05-26T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T02:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/jdhs-boys-too-much-for-kayhi\/"},"modified":"2023-05-26T18:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-27T02:55:00","slug":"jdhs-boys-too-much-for-kayhi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/jdhs-boys-too-much-for-kayhi\/","title":{"rendered":"JDHS boys too much for Kayhi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears held ball possession when it mattered most in their 2-0 win over Ketchikan during the ASAA DII Boys Soccer State semifinal, Friday, at West Anchorage High School.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Despite early field strength and ball control by Kayhi, the Crimson Bears withstood numerous shots behind a defense led by senior Will Robinson and junior keeper Alex Mallott to strike first.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“We needed him (Mallott) to be steady and he was steady,” JDHS coach Gary Lehnhart said. “Those shots by Ketchikan are the shots we want. We would rather have teams taking those 30 yards and try to chip it like that instead of goalkeepers trying to make diving saves to the left or the right.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
JDHS sophomore Amir Parker made the Kayhi keeper dive left, right, and back again by putting two fancy ball maneuvers against the Kayhi defenders and ripped a shot from 15 yards out that scorched past the Kings keeper for a 1-0 Crimson Bears lead 21 minutes into the first half.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“He’s hurt and I barely played him in the first round game,” said Lehnhart. “I played him, then took him out after 10 minutes to give him a three or four minute rest then put him back in. Our offense is definitely better with him in there. No question. He’s a dangerous player. He just adds to our offense, both from a passing standpoint and a shooting standpoint.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
JDHS earned a throw-in at the 30 minute mark and scored on a body shot by junior Xavier Melancon for 2-0 in the first half.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“It is exactly what we have been working on for the last month, every day,” said Lehnhart. “We have been the kind of team that has been creating lots of opportunities, lots of free kicks and cornerbacks and throw ins and we just have been really struggling to put them in the net.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t