Young Raiders Soccer Squad Optimistic in 4-0 Loss

Roseville High School's girls soccer team lost 4-0 to Stillwater on Tuesday. But Raiders coach Dave Alm was philosophical about the defeat.

“I think we played an outstanding game,” Alm said. “It was just an unfortunate result. We put on great pressure at the start of the game and had close encounters with the ball.

“What we're working to do is build momentum going into sections,” Alm added.

The Raiders will close out the regular season today (Thursday) and then move onto the section tournament. They have been able to stay close with Suburban East Conference opponents such as Woodbury and East Ridge in 2-1 losses.

“That's where we divide the season with our young team,” Alm said about sections. “After Thursday, we start our second season.”

Although the Raiders played the Stillwater Ponies tough, they didn't have a 2-1 result this time around. Katie Holder and Allie Shilling each had two goals for the Ponies in the first and second halves respectively.

In addition the Raiders mustered four shots on goal despite 12 fouls by the Ponies. The Raiders goalkeeper had 19 saves, and the team committed three fouls in the game.

“We had good compliment from the other coaches that our full backs were playing really tight and disciplined,” Alm said. “That's what were shooting for – for them to play disciplined when they don't have the ball., and being artistic when we do have the ball.”

The Ponies had entered the game ranked No. 22 in the state, and they have expectations to finish high in the section tournament.

“We knew it would be a hard game,” Alm said. “They always give us a good game.”

The Raiders have many freshman and sophomores on the team. They have only four seniors.

“Next season, there's really going to be a light out there for them,” Alm said about his club.