The Alexandria girls soccer team has run past Rocori in a blowout and also found a way to win a couple closer games now after a 5-2 win at Sauk Rapids-Rice (0-2) on Thursday.
The Storm led 2-1 late in the first half before a Sophia Korynta goal with less than three minutes in the half tied the game.
Kamryn Coauette had scored from 18 yards out earlier in the half for Alexandria, but Sauk Rapids matched the Cardinals through 40 minutes. Allie Randazzo and Kylee James had assists on those first-half goals for Alexandria.
It was all Cardinals in the second half as Emma Reineke broke the tie six minutes in when she scored from 15 yards out. Ellen Panther made a nice pass to set Reineke up on the right side, and she didn’t miss on her opportunity.
Randazzo has had a knack for finding the back of the net early this season, and she was at it again on Thursday after a couple missed chances early. Randazzo scored the final two goals for the Cardinals by crashing the net and hitting home rebounds off shots from Ellie Heydt and Ella Westlund.
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“Allie had missed opportunities to score earlier in the game that she would love to have a second crack at,” Alexandria head coach Tom Roos said. “She came back in the second half to knock two in the back of the net. The ability to reset after an unsuccessful play, put it behind you, and come back to make a big play later is a sign of character and something we can draw from later in the season.”
Sophia Vinje was not tested much in goal as she made four saves for the win. Maggie Fernholz had 12 saves against the Cardinals’ pressure.
Roos was confident in his team’s ability coming into the season, and his players have done nothing to diminish that confidence through a nice start to the season.
“In our first three games, we have goals from eight different players,” Roos said. “Knowing that we don't have to rely on one or two players for all of our scoring is huge. We have also been talking about our ability to reset after a play doesn't go the way you want it to. Sophia Vinje had a first-half goal get in that I know she would want back, Yet, she turned around and made a very nice save on a second half penalty kick.”
