With the district tournament coming up, it was an ideal test for the Albert Lea U-11 boys’ soccer team.

Tuesday, July 17, 2001

With the district tournament coming up, it was an ideal test for the Albert Lea U-11 boys’ soccer team.

A passing grade was earned.

The locals traveled to the metro area to finish the regular season last week and played well while falling 3-0 at Eagan and earning a scoreless tie at Farmington.

&uot;We pulled it together and played the best we have all year,&uot; said coach Dave VanFossen. &uot;We definitely showed what we can do. Hopefully, we will carry this intensity into districts.&uot;

The team played especially tough in the first half at Eagan, holding the home team without a goal until just before the intermission. The locals continued to play hard but Eagan was able find the net two more times.

At Farmington, the U-11 boys grabbed the momentum early and kept the ball in Farmington’s zone but were unable to score.

Drew Passingham, Ross Pirsig, Jace DeBoer and Jake Thompson all had opportunities but were contained by the Farmington defense. Then Albert Lea defenders Jim Swenson, Jacob Winkels, Eric Bowron, Tyler Hitchcock and Cody Knudson shut down Farmington’s advances.

The second half began like the first, with Hitchcock, Joel Stenseth, Ben Robinson, Cory Renchin and Matt VanFossen setting up scoring opportunities. One of the best chances came when Passingham drilled a shot that sailed just wide. Luis Lazaro also almost scored, sending a blast over the goal.

Brady Koziolek secured the shutout in goal, making several strong saves.

Other members of the U-11 team are Ben Robinson, Chris Dorman, Brian Staloch and Louis Tufte.

The locals open district tournament play Thursday against Bloomington.