Albert Lea wins; coach hopes for more enthusiasm

Published 5:15 am Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Albert Lea girls’ soccer team advanced to the second round of the Section 2A tournament Tuesday with a 7-0 win at home over Glencoe-Silver Lake.

The Tigers out-shot the Panthers 43-3 and won the time-of-possession battle by more than 40 minutes.

However, Albert Lea head coach Rick Barnhill set the bar high for his No. 3-seeded squad, and despite the stats and the scoreboard, he said he didn’t like what he saw.

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“We played below our standard,” he said. “It was flat, and at times we looked disinterested.”

Glencoe-Silver Lake entered the game as the No. 14 seed with a record of 1-14.

Holly Wichmann led the Tigers by scoring the first two goals of the game. Rachel Rehnelt and Megan Kortan scored before halftime to give Albert Lea a 4-goal advantage.

In the second half, Hannah Savelkoul, Becca Dup and Mackenzie Waldemar found the net to push the Tigers’ lead to seven points and secure the win.

Barnhill is hoping to see more energy and enthusiasm in the Tigers’ quarterfinal game against No. 11-seed Mankato Loyola on Saturday.