Athletes of the Week: Alaska’s Futsal trifecta strives for their second AWG gold medal

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - One of the best things sports provide us with are big upsets, and that’s just what the Arctic Winter Games brought in 2023.

In a Cinderella-type run, Alaska’s girl futsal team proved March Madness transcends college basketball, defeating AWG favorite Yukon, 3-2, in the futsal final.

Now, the team is back to compete once again, and so too are the girls who made last year’s upset possible: South’s Kinsey Dufour and Kadence Rogers and Dimond’s Zophia Lucero.

“Kadence was my goalkeeper, and she was money,” head coach Will Lucero said. “She was making stops that were just unbelievable.”

“Kinsey, she was another key player in just understanding what it takes to really push those limits,” he said.

“And then Zophia, she’s been very dominant on the backside and understanding the game and movement,” Lucero added. “Those three players coming back this year gives these other girls the experience to go play international competition.”

Now members of the U18 lineup, the trifecta will face their first test in the 2024 AWG against Nunavut on March 11.

“I’m looking forward to playing the teams we played last year, and seeing how much better they got,” Rogers said.

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people. It’s always a fun experience,” Dufour said.

“I want to experience the energy there was last year. I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” Lucero said.

With opening ceremonies slated for Sunday in Wasilla, it’s only a matter of time before that energy comes to rock the stadium bleachers in Alaska.

“Our team this year has a lot more people that are at a high level,” Dufour said. “So, I think we can do even better than we did last year.”

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