Alexandria girls' soccer: Cardinals lose game, player

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The Alexandria girls’ soccer team suffered two losses against Sartell last Thursday, one on the scoreboard and another to its roster.

The Cardinals fell to the Sabres 4-1 to fall to 7-3-1 in CLC play. On top of that, they had to deal with a tough loss to the roster as senior forward Gabby Koel was knocked out of the game after taking a ball to her eye. Head coach Thomas Roos said Koel suffered a tear to her retina that will keep her out for the rest of the season.

“Most importantly, it is my understanding that Gabby will be fine and will make a full recovery with her vision,” Roos said. “She is probably the most athletic player on our team and among the most skilled, so she will be really missed as we go into playoffs. However, we have always had the mentality that the strength of our team doesn’t come from any one individual. If everyone picks up the slack, our goal for going deep into the playoffs will not change.”

The Cardinals had a hard time overcoming that loss after it took place in the first half. Alexandria led early when sophomore Anna Lee sent a free kick over the defending line from 35 yards out and Jess Syvrud knocked it in for a 1-0 lead.

The Sabres responded with four unanswered goals after that. They evened things up 10 minutes after Alexandria’s goal to send things into the half in a tie game. Sartell didn’t look back after that, scoring three times in the second half to move to 8-3-2 in the CLC.

The loss for Alexandria secured the league title for Brainerd. The Warriors finished CLC play with a 7-1-3 record. The Cardinals still had a chance to finish in second place if they could beat St. Cloud Apollo on Monday night. They were scheduled to welcome in Moorhead on Tuesday before the Section 8A playoffs start on Thursday.

Alexandria 3,

St. Cloud Tech 1

Tuesday, the Cardinals hosted St. Cloud Tech in the first game of a doubleheader with the Alexandria and Tech boys.

Despite several opportunities, Gabby Koel’s penalty kick with 15 minutes remaining in the first half was the only score for the Cardinals, who saw the Tigers tie the contest with less than two minutes remaining.

“A mental mistake on the defensive end resulted in a Tech goal to tie the game at half time,” said Roos. “Alex executed better in the second half, resulting in two more goals.”

Seven minutes in, Lee scored a header off an Anna Spanbauer corner kick for goal two, followed by a Koel goal.

“With nine minutes left in the game, a very pretty goal started with a give-and-go between midfielders Anna Carlson and Chelsey Salto that ended with Anna finding Gabby Koel in the penalty area,” said Roos.

Sarah Bruzek had five saves on the night for the Cardinals, with St. Cloud Tech’s goalkeeper making eight saves.

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