Boys soccer: Alexandria holds off Becker in chaotic fashion to advance to the Section 8-2A semifinals

ALEXANDRIA

— There wasn’t a lack of drama in Thursday’s Section 8-2A quarterfinal matchup between the fourth-seeded Alexandria Cardinals and the fifth-seeded Becker Bulldogs.

A hat trick by Otto Anderson had Alexandria up 3-2 with three minutes to go when disaster nearly happened for Alexandria.

Becker had the chance to tie the match as Alexandria was called for a handball foul inside its defensive zone, resulting in a red card and a penalty kick for Becker with three minutes left.

Becker thought it had tied the match by converting the penalty kick attempt, but Becker was ruled to have stepped over the line on its penalty kick attempt, so the goal was taken off the board, and Alexandria was granted a free kick. Then, down one man with three minutes left in the match, Alexandria held on to win 3-2 on Oct. 10, 2024.

“We got a gift,” Alexandria head coach Brandon Johnson said. “I think they missed the penalty kick call. They should have had a chance to take it again, but they missed it, and the ball got it in play, and we took advantage of it.”

“I’m so pumped,” Alexandria junior Camden Kosters said. “My adrenaline was pumping. I’m just super excited. We recently beat Becker, so it was fun to just seal the deal with them.”

Anderson scored the go-ahead goal with 19:46 left in the match and came after some big saves by junior Ethan Carlson.

Just a minute before Anderson secured the hat trick, Carlson made back-to-back tough saves with a Becker player right in his face.

“I don’t know where he came from with his ninja-like moves,” Johnson said. “That double save kept us in it.”

“Those saves were insane,” Anderson said. “It hyped everybody up, and honestly, it saved us there. Then, getting the goal to put us up after catching up from a deficit is super awesome. It’s awesome that all of us collectively came together. We just wanted this win.”

Anderson scored his first goal of the night four minutes into the match to put Alexandria up 1-0.

Becker tied the match on a penalty kick goal by Rowan Klug in the 32nd minute and then took the lead with an Asher Olson goal on a free kick four minutes into the second half.

“Ethan played a great game, no doubt about it,” Johnson said. “Had some incredible saves along the way. He controlled the back line well. The penalty kick Becker scored on, I can’t hold that against him, and on the other one, we were just a little bit out of defensive shape. You can’t deny that he played well.”

Anderson tied the game with a goal on a penalty kick with 25:06 left, then scored the game-winning goal five and a half minutes later.

“Going out with a bang in my final home game with three goals is something I’m super proud of,” Anderson said. “It shows all the hard work and effort I put into this program, and it’s ultimately rewarding.”

With Thursday’s win, Alexandria is set to face the No. 1 seed, Willmar, in the Section 8-2A semifinals.

Alexandria (6-8-1) faces Willmar (10-3-4) on the road on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m.

“They’re going to be aggressive,” Johnson said. “And I know their coaches said they were not so pleased coming and not scoring on us. Obviously, it will be a challenge for us on their home turf. We’ll get to work and see what we can do, and hopefully, we will find a different outcome than the first time we saw them down there.”

Alexandria beat Willmar in Alexandria 2-0 on Sept. 30, 2024.

“We just have to stay calm, believe in ourselves, believe in our ability to play well,” Anderson said.

Willmar beat Alexandria in Willmar, 2-0, on Aug. 27, 2024.

The winner of Tuesday’s Section 8-2A semifinal match between Alexandria and Willmar plays either the No. 3 seed St. Cloud Apollo (7-4-3) or the No. 2 seed St. Cloud Tech (6-3-7) in the Section 8-2A championship on Thursday, Oct. 17, at time and location that is yet to be determined.

Sam Stuve covers a variety of sports in the Douglas County area. He also is assigned to do some news stories as well.