Card girls' soccer: Alexandria shuts out Storm 3-0

• Spanbauer

Anna Spanbauer chased down a ball during Alexandria girls’ soccer action earlier this season. The Cardinals defeated Sauk Rapids-Rice to hand the Storm its first loss of the conference season. (Echo Press photo by Eric Morken)

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The Alexandria girls’ soccer team had a chance to make a statement against an undefeated Sauk Rapids team last Thursday and did that with a convincing 3-0 win over the Storm.

The Cardinals play Sauk Rapids only once this season, meaning the win was worth two points. That could bode well for Alexandria in Section 8A seeding.

The Cardinals left little doubt behind a well-rounded performance in all facets. Anna Spanbauer got her team going when she sent a corner kick in front of the net that Chelsey Salto put in the back of the net with 10 minutes left in the half.

It took 12 minutes into the second half before the Cardinals added to that lead. This time, Gabby Koel gathered a pass from Emily Korkowski and put it in for a 2-0 lead.

After assisting on the first goal, it was Spanbauer’s turn to put the finishing touches on the win herself. Anna Lee cleared a Sauk Rapids’ corner kick out to Spanbauer with less than a minute left in the game. The junior forward then beat the only defender between her and the goal. Spanbauer raced down field before putting a shot in from the left side that put an end to things with 19 seconds left.

“Strong play was offered by a platoon of center defenders, including Anna Lee, Jess Syvrud, Annie Schneiderhan, Megan Abrahamson and Taylor Ellingson,” head coach Tom Roos said. “The strong defensive effort helped goalkeeper Sarah Bruzek earn her third shutout of the season.”

The Storm was 5-0-1 going into the game and had only allowed one goal in those six games. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 4-1-1 and pulled even atop the CLC standings with Sauk Rapids with a 3-1-1 conference record.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, soccer