Chugiak’s Mary Jo Landon was in her element on that wet and cold Juneau day.

Landon, the tough-minded senior midfielder known to train rain-snow-or-shine, had already scored once as the Mustangs and Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears entered second half stoppage time tied 3-3.

With the match almost up, Landon found the back of the net with one of her signature shots.

“It was getting really, really intense,” Landon said. “I think we had literally like four minutes of the game left and I was sprinting my butt off up and down the field.”

Such winning plays have become synonymous with Landon, who entered Thursday’s tournament with 33 goals, the most in the state. Landon’s skill, combined with a talented group of underclassmen, has resulted in perhaps the biggest turnaround in a Cook Inlet Conference that in the last decade has lacked parity.

“I’ve been around a lot of players and she’s just special,” Chugiak coach Cat Ruesch said. “And it’s not just because she’s talented, it’s because she works so hard. I would say the depth of kids who are willing to suffer for success has drastically declined in the last 10 years, but she’s still one of those (kids).

“Like, she’ll train by herself, she’ll train in the rain, she’ll train in the snow, she’ll train in her off days. I would say she maybe does too much sometimes.”

After years with Chugiak Soccer Club, the Central Washington University-bound talent had an instant impact on two of the most successful club teams in state history.

Landon joined older Anchorage players – including former Dimond stars Mai Mateaki and Ayla Ertekin – on the Alaska Rush U17 girls. Coached by Mike Montgomery and Chris MacKay, the girls made history three years ago as the first Alaska club team ever to win the US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Tournament.

“She came over to us from Chugiak Soccer Club, which had a good team but not a great team, and she was looking for more,” MacKay said. “One of the things that we really could have used at that time was a true goal scorer so she fit. It was a really great fit.”

Joining Rush pushed her development, Landon said.

“I knew I had to work 10 times harder than the other girls because I was like literally the youngest on the team,” she said. “Like these girls were two years older than me, and physically they were better than me, you know, and had more experience, and so I think I had that drive to get better.”

As her Rush teammates began leaving for college, Landon, who was still in high school, joined Cook Inlet Soccer Club, helping guide the Rich Bailey-led squad to USYS Nationals again.

“We (Cook Inlet SC) traveled probably last year at least seven or eight times out of the state in a year, which is pretty insane to think about,” Landon said. “So I think that’s what helped me become the player I am today.”

Despite the success with Anchorage teams, few could have predicted Landon’s and her Chugiak Mustangs’ stellar year, which continued Thursday on Day 1 of the ASAA Division I state tournament in the Valley.

Landon scored three goals in a 5-2 OT win over Service, which advanced the Mustangs to Friday’s final four. The senior striker has tallied 36 goals and 21 assists for 93 points in 19 games.

Prep Soccer

ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
D1 State Tournament
Thursday’s scores
GIRLS
Chugiak 5, Service 2
South 4, West Valley 0
Dimond 3, Colony 1
Wasilla 2, Juneau 1
BOYS
West Valley 4, Service 1
Juneau 3, Colony 0
West 3, South 0
Dimond 4, Chugiak 1
⚽
Friday’s schedule
GIRLS
Semifinals
3:00pm #1 South vs. #5 Dimond
7:00pm #6 Wasilla vs. #2 Chugiak
Consolation
11:00am Juneau vs. Service
3:00pm West Valley vs. Colony
BOYS
Semifinals
1:00pm #1 West Valley vs. #5 Juneau
5:00pm #3 West vs. #2 Dimond
Consolation
9:00am South vs. Chugiak
1:00pm Service vs. Colony

The program’s 15 wins are the most by a Mustangs’ team in at least 15 years. Last year, when Landon bagged 12 goals, Chugiak finished 9-8-1, good for fourth in the Cook Inlet Conference.

Like every team not named South Anchorage, Chugiak struggled against perennial powerhouse Dimond. In two losses last season to the Lynx, Chugiak was outscored 10-1.

Last month, however, was a different story.

Chugiak defeated Dimond on the Lynx’s home turf, 3-2, with goals from sophomore Arrianna Lubeck and Audra Burrill. Landon, for her part, had two assists.

“Our team is young but really talented and hungry,” Ruesch said. “And I think with that comes, you know, if you don’t know that you’re supposed to be scared, or if you don’t know that you’re supposed to lose, sometimes you don’t and I think that’s kind of what’s happened.”

Lubeck is one of many of Chugiak’s talented underclassmen, in addition to freshman Brooklynne Haigh.

Entering her freshman season, Haigh said she was not even expecting to make varsity. She said it was initially “kind of scary” to share the same field with Landon but has since found her to be “actually really nice.”

“She (Landon) is a ginormous leader at heart,” Haigh said. “So it was kind of nice having someone to look up to on the field when I first started my freshman year.”

Haigh not only made the cut for varsity but is fourth on the team with nine goals. Haigh was one of the Mustangs to score in that pivotal game against Juneau on April 18.

“It was definitely surreal playing with Mary Jo during that (Juneau) game because she wanted to win so badly and everyone wanted to win so badly,” Haigh said. “I think there was one goal she had, she shot it and I was like, ‘Oh that’s in’ and it went in.

“And all of us were just so excited.”

Many might say the same for the Mustangs’ future.