The Alexandria Area Soccer Association Girls U12 Redbirds Black team has seen some success in recent tournaments. The team won championships at the Friendly Days Tournament on June 11-12 in Albertville and the Tri-City United Summer Classic Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota, on June 18-19.
“Our team continues to gel as the season progresses. We are seeing the girls become friends on and off the field,” head coach Mike Helwig said. “This kind of chemistry is that X-factor that makes a team hard to beat. The girls in our offensive front that set up the plays and have led the scoring charge in these past two tournaments would include Emma Schmidt, Kearyn Elfering, Emma Laurent, Alexis Bergs, Grace Urness, Lucy Sanden, Josie Huebner, Abbi Helwig and Mila Warzecha.”
At The Friendly Days Tournament, the Redbirds beat Rogers 8-0, Great River SC 4-0 and earned a come-from-behind victory in a shootout in the championship game over St. Michael.
In Fargo, the Redbirds started with a win over a team from Minot, 5-1, before falling to a team from Aberdeen, South Dakota, 4-3 on June 18. In the semifinals, the Redbirds defeated the U12 Phoenix SC team from Winnipeg, Canada, 2-1, to set up a championship-game rematch with the U12 team from Aberdeen.
The Redbirds scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game and shut out the Aberdeen team 3-0 to win the championship.
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“Good defense is our secret weapon,” Helwig said. “Our defensive wall was led by our goalies Eden Sorlie and Lylah Marshall, as well as field players Jada McAdoo, Lilly Klimek, Ella Walz and Maya Dutton.”
The Redbirds' regular season ends on July 7, followed by a tournament in Detroit Lakes. The Redbirds are trying to make it back to the summer state tournament on July 20-24.
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