EDWARDSVILLE - In an interview earlier in the season, Alton girls soccer sophomore striker Emily Baker stated that one of her goals was to score her first-ever varsity goal before the end of the year.
On Monday night, Baker's wish came true, as she struck in the 12th minute, and a tight Redbird defense made it stand up as Alton defeated Civic Memorial 1-0 in a Metro Cup match played at Edwardsville's Tiger Stadium.
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The Redbirds came out with early pressure and intensity, and it helped set the stage for Baker's strike.
"I though we came out with more intensity than we had all last week," said Alton head coach Gwen Sabo, "and that helped up press CM and get an early goal. We had several other chances, but just couldn't finish them."
Baker's goal was assisted by Sydney Brunaugh, who's through ball found Baker in stride, putting the ball into the back of the net for the game's only goal. A stout Alton defense held the Eagles at bay for the rest of the contest.
"I'm proud of our backline for getting their first shutout of the season," Sabo said. "CM played really well too, and had several dangerous chances."
Addison Miller had five saves in goal for the Redbirds in recording her first clean sheet of the season, while Emily Williams had 11 saves in goal for CM.
The Redbirds improve to 2-4-0 on the season and will host Marquette Catholic in the Riverbend Derby Thursday night at Public School Stadium, with the kickoff set for 6 p.m. The Eagles are now 3-4-0 and will also play Thursday against Marion at Freeburg in a 5:30 p.m. kickoff.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
