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ALEXANDRIA — The Alexandria girls soccer team bounced back from its first loss of the season on Sept. 8 to beat Willmar (2-5) in a 1-0 game on Tuesday.
The win improved the Cardinals to 6-1 overall.
Alexandria dominated time of possession and put up 29 shots. Almost 20 minutes into the first half, Sophia Korynta sent a corner kick deep into the box that Mackenzie Jurchenko gathered. Jurchenko sent a pass to Alexa Eggebraaten who buried the goal for a 1-0 lead that held up.
“Camree Miller, Allie Haabala, Emma Ramstorf, and Brenna Eggebraaten, all sophomores, played strong games in the midfield,” Alexandria head coach Amy Korynta said. “They were able to attack with speed and composure repeatedly from the outside, while Alexa, Elle Heydt, and Morgan Jones led the attack up the middle. We were able to string together some impressive passing sequences over the course of the game. Ella Westlund, Sophia Korynta, and Mackenzie Jurchenko were threats all night up front. We will continue to work on our long and short range shots at practice. This team is very explosive with speed and intensity. We continue to improve and come together as a team.”
Willmar was not able to generate much of an offensive attack all night.
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“Our defense grows stronger and stronger each game,” Korynta said.
Alexandria also honored its 11 seniors in Lily Arnquist, Alexa Eggebraaten, Grace Evink, Morgan Jones, Olivia Knapper, Ellen Panther, Lily Pazdernik, Rylee Richards, Ella Steussy, Sophia Vinje, and Ella Westlund.
Boys play to 1-1 tie
The Alexandria boys (4-1-2) played to a 1-1 tie against one of the top teams in the Central Lakes Conference on Tuesday night.
Willmar is the defending Section 6AA and CLC champions. They had won five straight games to start this season before the tie with Alexandria.
“The match play was well balanced,” Alexandria head coach Brandon Johnson said. “Both teams played strong and physical, while each team found a tough opponent on the other side of the ball.”
Otto Anderson sent a short pass across the 6-yard box that Tripp Shatek was ready for to bury his first goal of the season. That made it a 1-0 Alexandria lead in the 14th minute before Willmar tied things up in the 25th minute of play when Idd Ali scored off a pass from Miguel Altramirano Toruno.
“The second half saw well balanced play and continued effort on both sides,” Johnson said. “In the final minutes of regulation, Alexandria was issued a red card causing them to play down a man for the remainder of the regulation and also into overtime.”
Alexandria withstood that challenge and now sits at 3-1-2 in CLC play. The Cardinals host Sauk Rapids-Rice (2-4) in a CLC and Section 8AA contest on Thursday night at 7.
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ALEXANDRIA 1, WILLMAR 1
SHOTS ON GOAL – A: 7. W: 8
GOALIE SAVES – Alexandria: Grayson Grove, 7 saves … Willmar: Andrew Ziebarth 6 saves
