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Alton High School

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6.0 years ago @ 8:08AM

Alton kickers reached new level in 2017 - The Telegraph - 5/22/2017

Alton kickers reached new level in 2017

 

Redbirds: New-found SWC success in 2017

By Pete Hayes - phayes@thetelegraph.com

 


Alton’s Katie Kercher, left, and her teammates finished the season 12-6-2. Above, Kercher battles with Granite City’s Maya Ware during a May 6 game at AHS.

 

James B. Ritter | For The Telegraph

GODFREY — The 2017 season featured new-found Southwestern Conference success for the Alton High girls soccer team. And while he’s happy to point out his team’s highlights, Redbirds coach Jeff Hayes also readily admits he sees the just-completed campaign as a stepping stone.

“We did some things in the (SWC) that Alton hadn’t accomplished in a long time,” Hayes said. “And we had some other noteworthy games.

“This team improved from the beginning of the season,” he said. “We had some setbacks, but all in all, it was a good year. I think we have established a foundation.”

The Redbirds, who got off the a quick 4-0 start on the season, ultimately finished 12-6-2. Their record in the SWC was something Alton fans pointed to as a clear sign of improvement.

Alton went 3-3 in the conference, the first time it had won more than one SWC game in the same season since 2014 when they were 2-4.

Going back 10 seasons, Alton’s best mark in the conference was 2008, when the Redbirds went 3-1-2. Overall in the span, they were 11-42-7 prior to this season. But Alton had victories over O’Fallon, Belleville East and Granite City. In 2016, they were 0-4-2, but did defeat East 2-1 in the 4A regional semifinals.

“This is a great group,” Hayes said. “It’s been an interesting season. These girls did some things that hadn’t been done for a while. They won three (Southwestern) conference games and they improved along the way.”

Leading the way offensively was Brianna Hatfield. The junior standout was one of the St. Louis area’s top scorers with 20 goals and three assists and her mere presence on the field created havoc for opponents.

“Bri is a special player,” Hayes said. “She reads play so well and anticipates. She has a fantastic soccer sense.”

While Hatfield may have been the Redbirds’ spark, the team had other threats to go with her. Katie Kercher developed into the backbone of the team. She contributed nine goals and had 28 assist. Even so, there were things Kercher did that don’t show up in the statistics.

“I told (Kercher) that her role was more than just scoring goals,” Hayes said. “She’s took it to heart and does a tremendous job of running down balls, beating defenders and setting up her teammates. I don’t think she gets enough credit for the little things she can do in a game.”

The Redbirds got four goals and six assists from sophomore Alaina Nasello, and three goals and two assists from Morgan Rauscher. Overall, Alton outscored it opposition 45-33.

The Redbirds’ defense notched five shutouts. Freshman goalie Kaija Ufert logged the most minutes in the net at 680. She had three solo shutouts, a 1.18 goals-against average and Alton was 8-1-1 when she played goal.

One of the Redbirds’ conference defeats came April 13 at Collinsville, 4-1. But despite the setback, the way Alton played in the game heartened Hayes.

“I know we lost 4-1,” Hayes said. “But we were in this one and our girls know it. I can see the disappointment on their faces. This was one we thought we had a shot at winning.

“It’s tough to get a win in this conference and it’s tougher to win on the road, especially at a place like Collinsville.

“Our girls know they can compete at this level.”


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