By Dayten Van Ostrand

Special to the Homer Independent Press

The Homer Mariners boys soccer team won two games at the state tournament in the Valley last weekend, including a penalty kick tie-breaker shootout, to finish third in Division II play. Homer’s only loss was to the eventual state champion, Soldotna.

The Homer girls team won its opening game at the tournament, then lost a pair of games to finish fifth.

The boys won their opening game 2-1 against North Pole. Van Spencer scored the first goal, and Tung Tran followed with a second.

The boys fell to Soldotna 4-0 in the semi-finals. That pushed them down to play Palmer for the #3 spot. Homer was seeded fifth in the tournament and Palmer third.

The Palmer game started with Carter Kincaid scoring for Homer. Palmer answered with two more goals. Then, Wolf Trejo scored for Homer and tied the game.

The game went into a penalty kick shootout, with Kai Waltenbaugh, Gunnar Pinsky, Carter Kincaid, Reid Rauch and Berend Pearson scoring. The Mariners won the tie-breaker 5-4.

“We showed a lot of resilience with two come-back victories – against North Pole and finished our season strong with another win against Palmer in penalties,” said junior Berend Pearson.

The Homer boys finished the season with a 9-7-2 record.

The Lady Mariners beat Monroe Catholic 2-0 in the opening game quarter-finals. Forward Estelle Velsko was player of the game for the Homer Mariners. 

The Lady Mariners went on to lose 7-1 to eventual champion Palmer in the semi-final round. Striker Ruby Hill scored Homer’s goal. Goal keeper Kyla Palin was player of the game for the Mariners.

In the consolation game, the Lady Mariners played top-seeded Soldotna, who had been beaten on penalty kicks by Kenai. Soldotna was the 4-0 winner, giving them third and dropping Homer to fifth place for the 2026 Alaska Soccer State Championships. The girls finished the season with a 6-6-3 record.