EDWARDSVILLE – Calista Cox has been one of the best players on Alton’s girls soccer team this season, and although the Redbirds lost at Edwardsville 3-0 Tuesday night at Tiger Stadium, Cox and her teammates kept battling on throughout.
“Yeah, it was a tough game,” Cox said in a postgame interview, “they play really high pressed, and so, finding those opportunities, it was hard for us to put it in the back of the net, and we’re just trying to make our way down the field, and we had a tough time tonight.”
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
With a penalty shootout win over Belleville East Thursday in the regular season finale, the Redbirds finished 14-9-1 and will again face the Lancers in their own regional Wednesday afternoon at Piasa Motor Fuels Field. Cox is very happy with her team’s body of work this season.
“Yeah, we have a big group of hard-working girls,” Cox said, “and our season is going really well. We have a lot of shutouts, and we’re starting to put balls in the back of the net.”
With the IHSA Class 3A regionals starting up next week, Cox feels that the Redbirds have a good chance to make a long run into the postseason.
“Regional wise, I think we have a good first seed,” Cox said, “and we can take a win the first game, and I think going into the championship, we have a good (chance) of winning regionals this year.”
If the Redbirds do get out of their regional, there’s the chance Alton may face Edwardsville in the semifinals of the Moline sectional May 21. Cox knows that the Redbirds will face another tough game, but her side will be ready to play.
“I think it’ll be another tough game, but I think the tables could turn at any time,” Cox said. “We’re both good teams, and we both battle, and sometimes, one team puts away more chances than the other.”
The team is close to setting a school record for shutouts in a season, and Cox and her teammates will focus on that, as well as getting ready for the postseason.
“We have a goal right now; if we get one more shutout, then we break the record for the school,” Cox said, “so that’s a big thing for us. It was to win conference, but that can’t happen anymore, but we’re just going to focus on regionals now, and getting shutouts.”
Past that, Cox knows that anything can happen in the postseason.
“Yeah, sectionals, state, you never know,” Cox said.
More like this:
