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Tuesday, October 02, 2001

It wasn’t so much that the St. Peter Saints defeated the Albert Lea High School boys’ soccer team.

It was a player named Abdi Idle.

The junior midfielder scored three goals in a span of about four minutes as Albert Lea lost 3-1 Monday night in a nonconference game at Hammer Field.

&uot;He’s a very skilled player, and we’ve had trouble coping with teams all year that have one or two skilled players,&uot; said ALHS coach Jim Haun.

One of the goals came on a direct kick. The others, according to Haun, were simply a matter of skillful play and a Tiger defense that couldn’t keep up in the first half.

&uot;We just didn’t pick him up in the midfield,&uot; said Haun. &uot;He just started dribbling the ball, guys started reaching in, and he’d go around them and set himself up for a good shot.&uot;

The Saints outshot the Tigers 11-8 in the first half but the Tigers turned it around in the second with a 13-8 advantage.

&uot;The guys started to play a lot better in the second half,&uot; said Haun.

They finally found the net at the nine minute mark, when Matt Olsen scored unassisted.

&uot;We had plenty of chances to score after that,&uot; said Haun. &uot;We just didn’t put them away.&uot;

Eric Hutchison was in goal the first half, Ethan Berg the second.

&uot;Ethan wasn’t really tested,&uot; said Haun. &uot;The defense kept their shots from outside in the second half.&uot;

Haun said midfielder Taylor Zimmerman played well.

The junior varsity won 5-0. Brian Christianson scored three goals, Nick McPherson and Justin McGinnis one each.

The Tigers, 4-9, play at Mankato East tonight.