Saints knock out Tigers in section semifinals

Published 12:22 am Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Taylor Friehl hit the crossbar and Ariel Christensen hit the post, but neither shot went in Tuesday as the Albert Lea Tigers girls’ soccer team lost to the Saint Peter Saints 2-0, despite outshooting their opponent 23 to 14.

The loss eliminates the Tigers (10-9, 9-4 Section 2A) from the Section 2A tournament and ends their season two wins shy of a state tournament berth.

“I have no regrets over how things turned out,” Albert Lea head coach Rick Barnhill said. “Because we played in a bold fashion and spent every bullet we had. Normally fortune will favor the bold.”

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Despite leading the Saints in nearly every offensive statistical category, and having an 11-minute advantage in possession, the Tigers were tied 0-0 with Saint Peter at halftime.

Forty-nine minutes and 10 seconds into the game, the Saints’ Morgan Osborne broke the tie and put Saint Peter ahead 1-0. The Saints score again at 76:59 to increase the lead to two.

“I’m extremely excited about the prospect of the future of this team,” Barnhill said. “If they make a resolve to train and commit with the highest intentions for next season. We exceeded expectations this season for such a young team.”