Alexander turned right around after their JV final game and had a Varsity game against Newark.  10 players who had played in the JV tournament were reinforced by Alyssa (the teams lone senior) and squared off against Newark in the first game.  Alexander's legs were a bit tired and Newark picked up the games lone goal and won 1-0.  Alexander had 2 more games and probably needed to win both to get a shot in the playoffs.  Alexander faced off against Geneva-Desales in the next game and won 2-0 in a great all-around performance.  Alexander faced off against North Rose in the final game and needed a win.  The game remained 0-0 throughout most of the game and inside the final 90 seconds Julia punched a goal home giving Alexander a 1-0 lead that would hold up and put Alexander into the playoffs.  Newark would pick up a win in their final game pushing them through as the 1 seed and Alexander as the 2.  In the other bracket Williamson won 3 games and was the 1 seed while the Lancers won 2 and lost 1 and was the 2 seed.  The Lancers knocked off Newark 3-2 in the first semi-final game and Alexander was up next.  With Tessa and Jamie both out with sore body parts Alexander had 9 players ready to see if they could extend the day one more game (1 senior, 7 9th graders, and 1 8th grader).  Alexander again played great team defense and kept the game 0-0.  Megan got in front of the net and buried a shot in the lower right corner to put Alexander up 1-0.  The defense made the lead stand up (props in the semi-final game to Sid who played all 16 minutes).  Alexander would face off against the Lancers in the final.  Some of the girls were playing on some really tired legs (it was Hannah's 13th game, Sid, Autumn, Amber, and Julia's 9th, and Savannah and Claire's 8th) but they gave it all they had.  Alyssa and Julia nearly made it 1-0 Alexander in the first 15 seconds as Julia took the kick off down and ripped a shot and Alyssa headed the rebound off the crossbar.  Alexander battled tough and gave up a goal midway through the game to go down 1-0.  Alexander had a lot of shots but couldn't get one past the Lancer's keeper.  Late in the game the Lancers picked up a 2nd goal to seal it up and the game ended 2-0.  Alexander had several great chances but just couldn't punch one in.  It was a great performance by a very young team.  Thanks to Alyssa for showing what a true experienced senior in a program should be - a good team member, role model, and leader as she played with a group of 9th graders (plus one 8th and one 10th grader) and worked hard with no complaints throughout the day.

All of the girls who played in the JV and Varsity tournaments had a great day.  Hannah picked up 6 wins, 6 shutouts, and 110 saves on the day in 13 games.  Megan had 4 goals, Sid had 4 goals and 4 assists, and Julia picked up 4 goals as well.  Congrats to all the girls - it was a lot of fun and definitely showed that even though we may have a very young group of girls this winter - we are still going to be competitive in our preparations for the next Varsity season where we will try to match and possibly pass the records of the most successful varsity team in Alexander's history - the 2004 sectional championship team.  Alexander finished with a 7-4-3 record on the day.  Great job girls - a great weekend of soccer.

Rosters:

JV 1

Hannah

Savannah

Claire

Jamie

Morgan

Tessa

Ashley

JV 2

Hannah

Sid

Summer

Autumn

Julia

Megan

Amber

Kaleigh

Var

Hannah

Sid

Jamie

Savannah

Claire

Autumn

Tessa

Amber

Julia

Megan

Alyssa

Goals:

Julia - 4

Sid - 4

Megan - 4

Jamie - 1

Morgan - 1

Savannah - 1

Assists:

Sid - 4

Amber - 1

Tessa - 1

Alyssa - 1

Claire - 1

Game Winning Goals:

Julia - 3

Megan - 2

Morgan - 1

Sid - 1

Saves:

Hannah - 110

Amber 5

Wins:

Hannah - 6

Amber - 1

Shutouts:

Hannah - 6