Alexander had lost 2 in a row, both by 3 goal margains and was in desperate need of a win over Elba to avoid falling further off the pace in the GR Division 1 race. They did just that with a 3-1 win over the Division 2 leading Elba Lancers.
Alexander went on top early in the game as 9th grader Julia Pettys (just recalled from JV) got a breakaway and fired it on net, it was saved by the Elba keeper, but Junior Anna Dominick ripped the rebound into the net to put Alexander up 1-0 10 minutes into the game. The lead didn't last long as 5 minutes later as Alexander lost a 50/50 ball in their defensive 3rd on a goal kick and the ball was blasted into the net to tie the game at 1. The 1st half was full of mistakes by both teams and ended 1-1.
Alexander came out much stronger in the 2nd half and it paid off 8 minutes in as Senior Rachel Pettys sent a cross in from the left side and Dominick beat the goalie to the near post and flicked it over the goalies head and into the net. The goalie got her hands on the ball but was unable to keep it out of the net.
Alexander Goalie Hannah Wilson made the save of the game moments later as Elba Senior Chelsi Clark (the 2nd leading scorer in the league) sent a rocket on net from 30 yards out, but a leaping Wilson got both hands on it, tipped it into the air, and caught it before an Elba player could get her head on it.
Alexander iced the game with 7 minutes left as Rachel Pettys found her younger sister Julia on a through ball and the younger Pettys went in on a breakaway and calmly tucked the shot inside the left post to make the score 3-1.
Lost in the scoreline was the play of 8th grader Abby Shilvock who marked Clark the entire game and limited her to a handful of shots with only one being dangerous. Shilvock, who is normally a midfielder, has really taken to her new role in the back and is taking a lot of pressure off of the rest of the defense by being able to take a player out of the other teams attack.
Alexander improves to 6-4-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the league and moves back into 5th place in the Class C Standings. With 2/3 of the season gone Alexander is showing signs of improvement from their young lineup and if they can continue to show more poise on the ball they should continue to improve.
