ALHS boys shut out East
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Going into the 2002 season, offense was not a concern of Albert Lea High School boys’ soccer coach Jim Haun.
His worry was defense.
He liked what he saw in both areas Monday night.
The Tigers controlled the midfield and kept Mankato East back pedaling in a 5-0 Big Nine Conference victory at Hammer Field.
&uot;Everyone played, everyone played hard and everyone played well,&uot; said Haun. &uot;The guys did what we asked tonight. We controlled the midfield, which led to domination in possession which led to the goals.&uot;
Although the Tigers asserted themselves early and had some quality scoring chances in the opening minutes, they didn’t score until Matt Olsen kicked in a throw-in by Jeremy Jacobson in the 23rd minute.
Olsen scored again about 10 minutes later, this time assisted by sophomore Conner Keyeski.
Jake Clark opened the second-half scoring, assisted by Taylor Zimmerman, in the fifth minute and, five minutes later, Jacobson scored on an assist from Olsen. Keyeski tacked on the fifth goal with a minute remaining, assisted by Jose Juarez.
Haun said Jake Levisen played particularly well at center defense.
The Tigers outshot the Cougars 27-12.
The Albert Lea junior varsity won 4-1 behind goals by Jason Schoonover, Brian Christianson, Dustin Trail and Nick McPherson. The C-squad won 5-2.
The Tigers improved to 3-4-0 overall and 1-4-0 in the Big Nine. The varsity and junior varsity play at Austin Thursday while the C-squad hosts the Fairmont club team.