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After 3 and a half days of preseason the Alexander girl's soccer team is coming along quite nicely.  Despite the abnormally hot weather this week (and the shocking lack of rain) a lot of work has been put in by the girls.  Both the JV and Varsity teams are coming into form nicely thus far.

There are just 33 total players out for the teams this year which is way down from the numbers that we usually have, but it appears that both teams should be very strong this fall as practice has been spirited and a lot of strong play has been shown.

The varsity squad returns 10 starters from last year's team including 2 all-league selections in GK Hannah Wilson and Defender Abby Shilvock.  In all likelyhood Abby will be moving back to her more natural role as an attacker this fall but don't be surprised to see her on the defensive line in some big games this year as well.  Despite the face that the team will only have 3 seniors there is loads of varsity experience with 12 juniors, 1 sophomore, and 2 freshmen on the team.  Both of the freshmen were starters last year as 8th graders.  The sophomore was a starter for a majority of the year as a 9th grader as well.  All of the 12 juniors have seen action in a varsity game prior to this year and many of them have been on varsity for more than one season already.

Here are 5 player profiles (I will give a rundown of all the players on the team over the next few days).

Senior Defender Jamie Neth - Jamie returns to the team this year after and ACL tear during March of 2008 kept her off the field last fall.  Jamie has varsity experience during her 9th and 10th grade years as an injury call-up and has seen time in sectionals during both her 9th and 10th grade seasons.  Jamie trains with the team year round and has amassed 182 offseason games over the past 5 years.

Senior Forward Anna Dominick - Anna returns for her 4th full season as a varsity forward and will be one of the central points of the Alexander attack this season.  Anna saw action her 8th grade year on varsity as well and has been a mainstay on the Alexander varsity team since her 9th grade season.  Anna is the school record holder in assists (which she broke last year) with 25 and currently is 6th in goals with 27.  She is only 9 goals behind 2nd place entering this season.  She had 7 goals and 8 assists last season.  Anna trains year round with the team, has played 162 games the last 5 years, has scored 97 goals and has 39 assists.

Senior Defender/Midfielder Leah Johnson - Leah was a contributor to an exteremely young defense last year for Alexander and is versitile enough to play a few different positions.  She has an incredible work rate on the field and is a very strong and physical on the ball defender.

Junior GoalKeeper Hannah Wilson - Hannah was an all-league selection last season after posting 9 wins, 7 shutouts, and picking up 169 saves on the season.  She has seen action in her 8th and 9th grade years on varsity filling in for injuries and other situations on the varsity team.  Hannah trains with the team year round and holds every goalkeeping record for the Alexander Soccer Club.  She has played 439 club games over the last 5 years (which is the club record) and made over 3000 saves, has nearly 200 wins and 150 shutouts in that same time period.

Junior Midfielder Autumn Atkinson - Autumn has been a member of the varsity team since early in her 8th grade year.  She has the ability to play several different roles in the midfield and can fill in as a defender if need be.  She has 5 assists and 2 goals in her varsity career.  She also takes many of Alexanders set pieces and is very accurate with her corner kicks.  She trains year round with the team and has played in 423 total games the last 5 years (2nd only to Wilson) and has amassed 59 goals and 73 club assists in that time period (she is 2nd in career assists for the club).

To be continued...