Alexander 2 Holland 1 posted by Coach on 02-26-2005 13:41

Alexander earned their spot in the finals after a well played 2-1 victory of a tough Holland team. Holland's goalie was spectacular all night making 15 saves including stopping 3 breakaways in the 1st half.

Alexanders forwards did a great job getting open for passes and attacking the net with the ball. Early on Missy, Linz, and Courtney all getting good chances on net. The midfielders (Julia, Kristi, Lacey, Carissa, and Kate) did an excellent job working the ball around and feeding it forward.

Midway through the first half Alesha's goal kick bocked at midfield and Missy took it through the defense and slid it in the corner for the 1-0 lead. About 5 minutes later Linz took a corner kick and Alesha smashed it into the net off her head to make the score 2-0.

Alexanders defense was solid in the first half as they limited Holland's chances. With just over a minute to go in the half Alexander let a Holland forward get open in front of the net and she buried it in the corner to make the score 2-1 at halftime.

In the 2nd half Alexander settled down in the back and Molly, Alesha, Maranda, and Lacey all did a great job on their marks and kept Holland away from the net. Leslie made 4 saves in the 2nd half (7 total in the game) to keep the score 2-1. Alexander's forwards and midfielders continued to move the ball around the field and Alexander had several chances to ice the game in the 2nd half, but Holland's goalie was up to the challenge every time stopping everything that came her way.

As the final minutes came off the clock Holland pushed players forward, but Alexander settled back on defense and turned the ball away. Alexander will face off against Amherst in the finals next Saturday at 8:15. It was a well played game from both teams.

1st star in the game goes to Alesha, picked up a goal and an assist and did a great job marking up in the back. Stepped to the ball well and had some great passing out of the back. 2nd star goes to Missy, great job up top, excellent runs, picked up a goal early, great runs and nice passing. 3rd star goes to Julia, strong game in the center of the field, good passing all game long and solid defense. Great games were also turned in by Molly in the back, Kate, Lacey and Carissa in the mid, and Linz and Court up top. Nice job ladies

Alexander 2 Depew 1 posted by Coach on 02-19-2005 15:59

Alexander knocked off Depew to pull into a tie for 2nd place the U16 Session II. The playoffs start next week where Alexander will face off against Holland for the 3rd time this session. Holland won the first meeting 5-0, but Alexander came back the 2nd meeting to win 6-1. It should be an excellent battle for a berth into the finals.

Alexander came out in the game against Depew expecting some dirty stuff, and Depew delivered just over 2 minutes in as the goalie kicked an Alexander forward while both were on the ground. She would get the first of 3 yellow cards that Depew would get in the day. Alexander's passing was superb all game long as they worked the ball around the field throughout the game, but were unable to get a ball into the net throughout the first half. Julia, Kate, Carissa, and Kristi all did a great job in the midfield, while Linz, Missy, Courtney, Casey, and Sidney all made some great runs and had excellent passes to each other to create several scoring chances.

In the back, Molly, Maranda, and Alesha played almost flawless throughout the game, having only one breakdown that resulted in a breakaway goal for Depew midway through the first half to give them the 1-0 lead. With Missy not feeling so well on the bench Alexander continued to play well up top, but just didn't have the final punch to get the ball through the last line of defense by Depew. The score at halftime was 1-0 Depew despite Alexander outplaying Depew for a good part of the first half.

The 2nd half saw Alexander continue to dominate possession of the ball and it showed with a couple great scoring chances early on that just missed. Missy came off the bench and made some great runs, taking an excellent through ball from Linz and burying it into the net as a Depew player grabbed her by the arm and tried to pull her down. The score was tied at 1-1. Alexander continued to push the ball forward with Julia, Carissa, Kate, and Kristi all moving well off the ball to create open passing lanes. Molly, Alesha, and Maranda did an excellent job in the back (with a little help from Kate after Maranda got kicked in the knee by a Depew player when neither had the ball). Leslie made 7 saves in net to keep Depew off the scoreboard in the 2nd half.

With just over 7 minutes left in the game Linz took a pass from Courtney and beat the goalie to make the score 2-1. From there Alexander settled back in and preserved the lead for the final 7 minutes. With just over 2 minutes left Alexander nearly iced the game as Courtney sent a pass to the back post that Linz mishit slightly and it missed the left side by a foot.

It was a superb all around effort by all of the Alexander players. The passing and communication was excellent, and the runs off the ball were even better. Not having to play Saturday was a great prize for winning the game last night as it gives players a week to rest before the playoffs start.

1st star in the game goes to Julia, created opportunites for the forwards all day with her work with the ball and her pinpoint passes. Great job defensively in the middle of the field. 2nd star went to the trio of defenders in the back. Played superb defense all game long, worked well together and stepped to every ball. 3rd star went to the trio of outside mids who had some great passing, excellent runs without the ball, and helped mark up on defense all game long. 4th star goes to Courtney, Linz, and Missy, who were spectacular all game long up top and created a ton of scoring chances. 5th star goes to Leslie, who did a great job in net and made a couple great stops in the first half to keep the score 1-0 rather than letting it get any worse. 6th star goes to Sid and Casey, did an excellent job helping out up top and giving the forwards some breathing time. Both had at least one nice scoring chance and put some great pressure on the Depew defense. Awesome job girls, a very nice win. Lets get a spot in the finals next week.

Alexander 6 Holland 1 posted by Coach on 02-12-2005 09:54

Alexander had their rematch against Holland Friday night, the team that had beaten them 5-0 in the first game of the session. Holland was short on players, so Alexander looked to work on their ball movement with people open all game long. It took Alexander a little while to get going, but eventually they put some passes together and found the net. Kristi hit Missy with a pass just over 5 minutes into the game and the score was 1-0. 4 minutes later Becky blasted a shot that went through the goalies legs to make the score 2-0. Alesha would get a direct kick that would make the score 3-0. Just before halftime Missy would hit a beautiful cross to Tara who put it home to make it 4-0.

The defense played very well in the first half lead by Molly, Alesha, Maranda, and Lacey. Leslie made 4 saves in the first half to keep Holland off the scoreboard. Lacey, Kristi, Carissa, Kate, Becky and Rachel moved the ball well through the midfield and the forwards did a great job with the ball up top.

The 2nd half started off slowly as Holland would get a breakaway goal early to make the score 4-1. Alexander would settle down and keep Holland away from the net for the remaineder of the half. Missy would add 2 excellent goals in the 2nd half to get the hat trick and make the final score 6-1. The first goal Rachel hit Missy on a great through ball and Missy buried it in the net. The 2nd goal came off a cross from Leslie. Missy had her back to the net, did a spin move and buried the ball.

The midfield did a good job helping out the defense in the 2nd half, while Molly, Maranda, Alesha, and Courtney A had solid halves in the back. Up top, Courtney, Tara, and Missy all played well in the 2nd half with each of them having several chances to score. Becky made 5 saves in net in her first action in net in quite a while.

1st star goes to Missy, awesome game, took over up top with 3 goals and an assist. Passing was awesome all game long and finished off her shots. 2nd star goes to Alesha, stepped to the ball well in the back, had some great direct kicks, solid play in the back. 3rd star went to Kate, excellent game in the midfield, with some very nice play in the center of the field in the 2nd half. Great games were also turned in by Molly in the back, Kristi and Lacey in the midfield, and Courtney up top. Nice job ladies.

Alexander 2 Attica 0 posted by Coach on 02-05-2005 09:34

Alexander faced off against Attica Friday, looking for their first win of the session after a very slow start. Alexander came out very slow in the beginning of the game and nearly fell behind 1-0 on two seperate occasions, but Leslie came up with two of her 6 saves overall in the game to keep Attica off the scoreboard. After the slow start Alexander started to settle down and work the ball around the field to each other and create some scoring chances. Julia, Kristi, Carissa, Tara, and Rachel did a good job in the midfield moving the ball around and getting through to the forwards allowing them to get some shots off. With just over 8 minutes to go in the first half, Linz sent a ball into Julia who took a touch and fired it into the back of the net for a 1-0 Alexander lead. Molly, Maranda, Alesha, Ginny, and Sidney made the lead stand up as they gave Attica no chances to get any sort of offense going.

In the 2nd half Alexander stepped up the pressure as Linz, Missy, Casey, Tara, and Courtney all worked up top and created shots for themselves. The midfield continued their strong play moving the ball from side to side. Midway through the 2nd half Julia hit Missy on a through ball and Missy smoked it into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead. That was more than enough for a defense who wasn't allowing Attica anything. Attica got two balls through to their fast forward, but both times Alexander ran her down before she got a shot off. When Attica did get a shot off Leslie was up to the challenge making 6 saves in shutting out Attica.

After a slow start Alexander played very well in the later part of the first half and the 2nd half to dominate the game and come away with their first win since the semi-finals of the last session. Alexander will look to build off of this win as they make a drive for the 2nd session title.

1st star in the game goes to Molly, excellent job in the back, won the ball well and worked to keep the defense in shape in the back. 2nd star goes to Alesha, solid game in the back, stepped to the ball well and had some very nice passes out of the back. 3rd star goes to Julia, great passing, good vision, and had some great communication on the field. Superb performances were also turned in by Leslie in net, Maranda in the back, Rachel in the mid, and Missy and Linz up top. Everyone played well in the 2nd half. Great job girls.

Alexander 0 Depew 0 posted by Coach on 01-30-2005 10:25

Alexander came out strong against Depew and played very well in picking up a tie against a dirty as usual Depew team.

Depew set the tone early in the game with a blatant two handed push in the back of an Alexander defender as the ball went out of bounds. Aleaxander kepth their cool and worked the ball around having a couple good looks on goal. Molly, Maranda, Alesha, and Ginny played very well in the back sticking their marks and winning the ball away on nearly all challenges. Courtney H played well in net picking up 4 saves in the first half. Julia lead the midfield with some excellent passing and good defensive work in the center. Linz, Lacey, and Alyssa did a great job up top with each having at least one shot on net in the first half.

In the 2nd half Alexander got off to a slow start, but Courtney A showed that she has some goalie skills picking up 4 saves in the first 2 minutes, including a diving stop that saved a sure goal. Alexander settled down from that point on and played excellent defense in front of Court as she made 3 more saves in the half to keep the shutout alive. The offense moved the ball around well as Julia, Kristi, Carissa and Courtney H all played well with their passing and communication. Linz, Alyssa, and Lacey all did a great job up top. Molly, Kristi and Ginny both had great shots on net that nearly found their way in to give Alexander the win.

Alexander played a great complete game, and didn't let Depews constant pushing from behind get into their heads and let the ref call the game. Thankfully the referee did a great job with the calls.

1st star went to Maranda, great game on the defensive side, stepped up into the offense well from our outside position, good communication. 2nd star went to Molly, great game in the back, solid performance on defense and had a couple great direct kicks that nearly found the net. 3rd star went to Courtney A, great job in net in the 2nd half, 2 saves that kept the game a shutout and perserved the tie. Great games were also turned in by Alesha and Ginny in the back, Julia, Carissa, and Kristi in the mids, and Linz up top. Excellent job ladies.

Holland 5 Alexander 0 posted by Coach on 01-09-2005 13:02

Not the best start to the 2nd indoor session for the U16 team as they were thoroughly beaten by Holland with the final score 5-0. Alexander never got anything going and were badly outplayed by Holland for the entire 50 minutes of the game.

Alexanders passing was off, their marks were off, and there wasn't much movement off the ball. Alexander will look to improve on this game in the future weeks as they look to defend their co-championship in the U19 from the previous session.

1st star in the game went to Tara, played a great game up top and in the mid, great passing, good dribbling with the ball, and some good movement without the ball. 2nd star went to Courtney Aldrich, solid game in the back, stuck her mark all game long and had some nice hits in the back. 3rd star went to Lin, had some good runs up top and some solid shots. Tough start to the session, lets look to bounce back.

Games Start This Weekend posted by Coach on 01-06-2005 10:12

Good Luck Girls!