PREP GIRLS' SOCCER: Trojans fall on road to Albert Lea

ALBERT LEA — Alina Keodouangsy continued her recent goal-scoring tear in the Worthington girls’ soccer team’s game against Albert Lea on Tuesday, but the Trojans suffered a tough 7-1 loss in the contest.

The Tigers scored first at the 26 minute mark, but WHS managed to tie the score five minutes later on a goal by Keodouangsy — who scored four times in her team’s 5-1 victory against Willmar on Saturday.

However, Albert Lea scored two more times before the half and four times in the first 25 minutes of the second half to earn a convincing victory.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Albert Lea because they brought a lot of pressure,” WHS head coach Smitty Ektnitphong said. “At times we were ready for it, but most times we were just struggling to get a hold of the ball with our first touches.”

Despite facing such a big deficit, the Worthington players displayed a never-say-die attitude and fought back to play a strong final 15 minutes.

“The last 15 minutes of the game we were playing really well, even though we were down 7-1,” Ektnitphong said. “I’m really very pleased with that.

“After the game I mentioned to them that this is a character game. No matter how bad the game is or how many goals we allow, we’ve got to keep continuing to fight.”

Alivia Rowley managed 12 saves in net for the Trojans, helping to counteract a 22-6 shot differential in the Tigers’ favor.

Worthington (1-4) will have three days to rest up before playing Mankato Loyola on the road on Saturday.

Worthington 1 0 — 1

Albert Lea 3 4 — 7

Tags: sports, prep, soccer, worthington, trojans