Dimond girls stun South in double overtime, while South boys complete unbeaten season at state soccer

May 26—WASILLA — After a collection of near-misses at the Alaska Division I girls state soccer tournament, Dimond midfielder Parker Sullivan finally connected on a header.

And her timing couldn't have been better.

Sullivan received a spot-on corner kick from teammate Katelyn Seibert, leaped and converted a goal late in the second overtime to help the Lynx defeat South 1-0 in the title game Saturday.

"I am very tired, but I couldn't be happier," Sullivan said, still gasping for breath following the marathon game.

It was a connection the duo nearly converted on multiple times during the tournament.

"In the first two rounds, we had five corners that Katelyn took," Sullivan said. "All five of them were so close. And before the game, she said 'I feel it. We're getting one this game.' When I saw her getting that (kick), I just said I have to put that in."

Both teams had opportunities throughout regulation, and even in the first overtime. The two teams, clearly exhausted, appeared headed to a shootout until Seibert connected with Sullivan. The Lynx went wild after the goal but the teams still had to play out the remainder of the second overtime.

"We work on it quite often and throughout the season," Seibert said. "We talked about it and were like 'It's connecting. It's going to happen.'"

The goal swung the pendulum back toward the Lynx in the battle between the two powerhouse programs. Dimond won the 2021 and 2022 titles, but South topped the Lynx in the 2023 title game and swept Dimond during the regular season.

"I don't think anyone was expecting it," Sullivan said. "We lost to them last year and both games this year. The last one was a 4-1 loss. We took that and said 'This isn't the Dimond we know.' We switched our formation to fit theirs and the last two games we've just been playing lights-out."

As the game went scoreless through 80 minutes of regulation, Dimond head coach Will Lucero said the lumps his team took in the regular season made the Lynx more resilient.

"We've been knocked down but it's the experience of being knocked down and knowing what to do afterwards that got us this win," he said. "We never doubted ourselves, we just kept fighting and believing. The excitement of getting here and doing what we did speaks volumes."

South boys top Colony to complete unbeaten season

The South boys completed an undefeated season on Saturday, toppling Colony 2-0 in a dominant performance. The matchup was a repeat of the 2023 title game, won by Colony.

"Everybody since the beginning of the season wanted to beat us," South junior Dawit Hoffman said. "We still wanted that championship. ... I'm glad we put all that effort in to stay undefeated."

The Wolverines got on the board in the first half when goalie Ralf Braun fired a free kick from 50 yards away that sailed through traffic and hit a Colony player's head and redirected into the goal.

The Wolverines added a second goal in the first half when Declan Priddy controlled a corner kick and knocked it in.

South's defense was especially impressive throughout the game as Colony had very few scoring opportunities.

South's run to the title was tainted by an incident on Friday night following the team's 1-0 win over West High.

Although ADN was not covering the game live on Friday, a review of the livestream showed a physical confrontation near the West bench and a number of South players taunting the crowd following the game. Once order had been restored, South players gathered to jog across the field to greet their fans and continued to taunt the crowd.

Four players and head coach Bryan Lux were not on the field in Saturday's title game following suspensions issued by Alaska School Activities Association.

Although ASAA executive director Billy Strickland, citing student and staff confidentiality, said he could not provide more details on the incident or suspensions, including whether any West players faced discipline. He did write in an email that the "matter is still under investigation, and further disciplinary actions may be warranted as more facts come to light."