Alexander came away with a 2-0 win over Perry at Wheatland-Chili Tuesday night in what was less than ideal weather. Williamson and Canisteo-Greenwood had played before at 5pm and the field was in very good condition despite the game prior to ours.
We cut our warmup shorter than usual to avoid getting completely soaked before the game even started and hoped to come out quick. We attacked right away and put some pressure on Perry's net with 5 shots in the first 8 minutes of the game. Alexander went ahead 1-0 as Junior Anna Dominick crossed the ball to Senior Rachel Pettys and she fired a shot high in the far left corner to make the score 1-0 in the 11th minute of the game. Alexander dominated possession in the 1st half and had several chances to go on top 2-0 but none found the back of the net.
Alexander came out in the 2nd half and continued to dominate possession but could not find the net, as has been the case all year long. Perry had some dangerous moments and had 5 corners in the game but Alexander's defense stood strong and Sophomore goalie Hannah Wilson came up big on several saves throughout the game to earn her 7th shutout of the year.
A trio of sophomores did a great job in the middle, none of which started at the beginning of the year. Morgan Mattice, Claire Hartl, and Ashley Szymanski logged all the minutes in the center of the pitch, won a majority of the headers, and had some great quick movement of the ball in and out of the field. 9th grader Julia Pettys and 8th grader Abby Shilvock were both moved from the positions they have played all year to the outside mids and did a fantastic job creating as Alexander saw a great improvement in the overall play of their midfield.
Alexander iced the game with 55 seconds left as Julia Pettys sent a cross from the left side of the field to Anna Dominick who settled, took a touch and beat the keeper high over her to give Alexander the 2-0 lead.
Alexander's defense played qutie well and was lead by Sophomore Savannah VanSon who logged her 19th straight start at sweeper and kept things organized. 8th grader Gabby Kwiatek, Junior Leah Johnson, and Sophomore Tessa Bigelow all did a great job in front her sticking with marks despite difficult footing throughout the game.
8th grader Maria Dominick and Senior Rachel Nielans both contributed key minutes at outside mid throughout the game.
Alexander's record improves to 9-6-4 on the season and they move on to play Geneseo on Friday at 6pm in Geneseo. Geneseo is ranked in the top 10 in the state in the last poll that was released.
