Tournament Information

Player

Alesha

Stacey

Maranda

Duval

Tara

Laura

Linz

Julia

Missy

Becky

Jess

Kim

Mandie

Kate

Bucky

Postition

D/F
M

F/M

Alexander took a young team to this U16 thanksgiving tournament, but we still had large expectations, be in the finals and win them. Although we would fall just a bit short of our ultimate goal of winning the tournament title, it was an impressive day of soccer. The final ended 1-0 in favor of Ken-Ton, but we fought every second of the game and had our chances to win the whole thing. Tournament MVP honors went to Bucky, who just played out of her mind all day long. She absolutely shut down the center of the field 99% of the time and was doing a great job keep her outside markers on their marks and keeping things organized. She also collected a handful of bruises and aches and pains before the day was over, but by far some of the best soccer I have seen played by a defender in a while.

Now for the game by game recaps:

Kenton 1 Alexander 0 (Finals)

Alexander came into this game fired up, trying to win their first indoor championship with this team and also beating their arch nemesis Ken-Ton in for the title. The game was well played by both sides throughout. Ken-Ton found the net early on and played solid possession with some very nice passing. The defense of Bucky, Kim, Stacey, and Alesha did a great job in the back shutting down nearly every opportunity that Ken-Ton brought their way. Linz and Missy had some great attacking runs up front, but the central defender for Ken-Ton was up to the task every time. Julia, Jess, Kate, and D had some great passing and shooting in the midfield, with Julia doing a great job playing defense against a very good center mid, taking her out of the game for most of the game. Becky made 5 saves in net, and came out to get a corner kick for the first time in her career. In the end the score didn't go our way, but we have nothing to be ashamed of as we played hard and gave it everything we had. A great game all around. 1st star goes to Bucky, finished off the day with another solid game of defense in the back, getting the ball out of trouble and stopping a lot of one on one attacks. 2nd star goes to Julia, who had a solid game in the middle of the field, playing one on one against probably the best individual player in the tournament and doing a very nice job on her. 3rd star goes to Kim, who had a strong game in the back, and had some great goal kicks to get the offense started. Strong games were also turned in by Missy and Linz up front, Jess in the mid, and Stacey in the back. A very well played game, we will beat them eventually.

Alexander 5 Arcade 0

Alexander knew that if they won by 3 goals or more they were assured a spot in the finals of the tournament. The first 10 minutes of the game were very slow paced as Alexander was flat starting the game out. Arcade appeared to go ahead 1-0 just over 9 minutes into the game, but the ref called it back stating that it was an indirect kick and hadn't touched anyone before it found its way into the net. The seemed to light a fire under Alexander as they picked up the pace and started firing balls on the Arcade net. Before the dust settled, Missy and D would both score 2 goals, and Linz would add one of her own as Alexander ran up a 5-0 win and locked up a place in the finals. The defense had a solid game after they settled down and picked their marks up. Bucky was outstanding in the back again as she tried to hold things together while the game wasn't going so well. 1st star goes to Missy, picked up 2 big goals to pace the offense and had great runs and passing all game long. 2nd star goes to D who blasted 2 goals in, the 2nd one on a direct kick that nearly ripped through the side of the net. 3rd star goes to Bucky who played outstanding, stepping to every ball and winning every battle in the back. Her communication was what saved the beginning of the game from going South quickly. Great performances were also turned in by Linz up front, Julia and Kate in the mid, and Kim in the back.

Alexander 1 Ken-Ton 1

Alexander faced off against Ken-Ton for the first time this year, after suffering several defeats to them last year. Alexander was looking to position themselves for the finals by winning or tieing this game, and we came out hot right from the opening whistle. Missy and Linz were all over the field up front, getting off several shots in the opening minutes. D and Jess were doing a great job on the outside mids helping out with the marking, which is always tough against a team that passes as well as Ken-Ton. Just over 10 minutes into the game, Linz would volley a ball into the back of the net giving Alexander a 1-0 lead over their arch nemesis Ken-Ton. Unfortunately that lead would not hold up as Ken-Ton got a garbage goal with 7 minutes left in the game. It was a very nice shot, but Alexander just wasn't ready for it and it hit in off the post. The defense of Stacey, Kim, Alesha, and Bucky had a great game in the back, shutting down the Ken-Ton attack despite their constant motion and give and go passes. Becky made 5 huge saves in net to keep Alexander from falling behind in the game. 1st star goes to Bucky, who absolutely locked down the center of the field. No one was going up the middle of the field, no matter how hard they tried. 2nd star goes to Jess, who had a great game working her butt off on the outside mid marking one of Ken-Ton's top strikers. 3rd star goes to Kim, who played some great defense, shutting down her mark and also played some center-mid and had some top notch passing to help out the offense. Very nice games were also turned in by Linz up front, Julia and D in the mid, Stacey in the back, and Becky in net.

Alexander 1 Tri-Town 1

Alexander started out this tournament with a tough game against a very solid Tri-Town team. The day started out well as Alexander took the play right to Tri-Town early, not backing down one bit and putting some great series of passing together. Missy and Linz cut through the Tri-Town defense several times and had great shots on goal. Julia was moving the ball all around the field, hitting some beautiful through balls and loads of other great passes throughout the game. Bucky and Kim played excellent in the back, shutting down Tri-Town all game long. Becky made 4 saves in net, all very nice saves to keep Tri-Town off the score board. Just over 11 minutes into the game, Missy went on a breakaway and banged it in off the near post to give Alexander the 1-0 lead. This lead would hold up until approximately 6 minutes left when Tri-Town would bang in a indirect kick to tie the game at one. From there Alexander played solid defense and held Tri-Town to a 1-1 tie and start the tournament off with a great performance. 1st star goes to Missy, who played a great game up top, great passing and great attacking runs that gave the Tri-Town defense trouble all game long. 2nd star goes to Becky, who played a great game in the nets, with a couple of very solid saves to keep Tri-Town off the board early in the game. 3rd star goes to Bucky, who had a great start to the game playing great lock down defense, shutting her mark off and putting the ball up to the forwards to start the attack. Great games were also turned in by Julia in the mid, Linz up front, and Kim and Alesha in the back. Great job ladies.

Stats

Goals:

Missy - 3

D - 2

Linz - 2

Assists:

Linz - 2

Julia - 1

Laura - 1

Jess - 1

Saves:

Becky - 18

Shutouts:

Becky -1