Alexandria soccer: Card girls fall to Apollo in CLC soccer action

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The Cardinal girls’ soccer team switched its lineup around and it almost resulted in the first win of the season for Alexandria last Thursday night against Apollo.

The Eagles dominated the Cardinals early last week in a 5-1 game. Three days later, Alexandria outshot Apollo 9-6 in the first half but still came up short in a 2-1 game.

“We played five people in different positions than when the season started and had three players in the game who did not start the season on varsity,” head coach Tom Roos said. “With this many new faces on the roster, it is a process to find the places where players can excel and make the most of their talents.”

Marisa Eigen had a strong game against the Eagles. She scored her team’s only goal in the second half off an assist from Bria Nienaber. Freshman Sara Bruzek was solid in net for Alexandria in a losing effort.

“On the first goal, Sara came out a little too far and a little too early to cut off an angle, which allowed a high shot to get over her,” Roos said. “After that, she was very strong, keeping us in the game many times.”

The rest of the group made strides that Roos feels his team can build on going forward.

“We always knew Joey Warnes was a great athlete,” he said. “But last night she was a soccer player, showing some hard cuts on the ball and great first touches at outside mid. Moving Claire Illies to forward brings a dimension of distributing the ball that helps the rest of the forward platoon. Leah Stinson showed dynamic play after being moved from the center-mid to outside-mid position. Both Chelsea Mistele and Ashley Vanderveur played strong at center defenders and never left the field.”

The Cardinals hope these changes result in a few wins as they head into the second half of the season.

“The challenge is to build on this game, keep moving forward, keep improving,” Roos said. “This season is a work in progress and right now the key word is progress.”

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