Last year, the Albert Lea U-13 girls’ soccer team surprised everyone in racking up an impressive list of conquests.

This year, surprise has been replaced by expectation. The Elks expect to play their best soccer and their opponents expect Albert Lea to be the toughest game on their schedule.

Sponsored by Elks Lodge 813, Albert Lea has repeatedly shown it is a small town team capable of beating the big city machines. So far, only the Classic 2 squad has played; the Classic 3 squad begins soon.

A 2-0 triumph at Lakeville started slow. The teams tested each other, probing for weakness.

Then Albert Lea began to dominate. It was scoreless at halftime, but that didn’t last long. Left forward Conner Peterson placed a nice shot straight at the Lakeville goalie. Right forward Amanda Arends was there too and, with a flick of her forehead, deflected the ball away from the goalie’s outstretched hands and into the back of the net.

Several Elks players have the legs to shoot from well outside the box. For the insurance goal, stopper Kendra Olchefske cracked one from just past midfield that split two rushing Lakeville players and dropped in behind the goalie.

At Hammer Field, Albert Lea opened the game against two opponents, Valley United and high winds. The Eagles played a very physical game and, with the wind at their backs, repeatedly challenged the Albert Lea defense. The Elks frustrated every Apple Valley attack.

With the wind in the second half, the locals opened strong. Forward Peterson deflected midfielder Kara Thorne’s crossing pass to forward Arends, who netted the game’s first goal. The Elks became more confident and the Eagles became more desperate. Several minutes of very physical play gave the locals a number of penalty kicks. With only seconds remaining, the Apple Valley coach sent all her field players forward to force a goal. In the ensuing melee, the ploy worked and Valley United escaped town with a tie.

“We have 32 players on the roster,” said Coach Wilson, “and their competitive spirit is apparent. They like to play and they like to win, but games will be won or lost on the practice field this season. It’s obvious which girls practice the hardest and work on improving their skills. Winning games is nice because everyone feels good, but the real objectives this season are to hone skills and challenge those skills against progressively tougher opponents. Each squad’s development goal for this season is to be able to play competitively at the next level.”