SOCCER: Redbird Arrival

ALTON - The Granite City Warriors have been in the upper echelon of the Southwestern Conference and Southwestern Illinois girls soccer for many years. The Alton Redbirds are eager to join the party.

Even though the Redbirds may not have prevailed against the powerful Warriors on Thursday night, they certainly have arrived.

The Redbirds and Warriors played to a grueling 1-1 tie at Moore Park in a match that had all the intensity of a sectional championship and the flavor of a state finals match.

Allison Baker scored for the Redbirds (13-2-2, 3-0-2), who were looking to overtake the Warriors (12-0-2, 4-0-1) atop the SWC standings. But Alton will remain a half-game back with one match remaining for each team.

"I think we arrived about six weeks ago, to be honest," said Alton coach Greg Nasello. "Tonight was a really good show by us. You've got two good teams battling it out. The goalkeepers made some great saves. We had great chances on both parts. Both defenses played well."

The two goals were scored 14 seconds apart. The Redbirds got a goal from Baker at 18:06 of the first half. But before Alton had enough time to celebrate grabbing a lead, Granite City's Rachel Meyer tied the score at 18:20 on an own goal after her shot went in off an Alton defender.

"It was nice to get the game tied back up," Warriors coach Gene Briggs said. "We would have liked to put in some of the other chances that we had. The tie's a little discouraging but certainly we had opportunities. It's just a matter of next time we put them in."

The Warriors outshot the Redbirds 18-14, but they put more shots on goal as Alton sophomore Brooke Cooley was busy making nine stops in the game.

"Alton played a good game," Briggs said. "It was a physical contest but certainly a good, tough soccer match. You have to give Alton credit here for their effort tonight. We knew they had a good team this year and they were playing well. We expected a good game and we got it."

The Warriors had more of the ball possession on the night, but the Redbirds had chances to counter throughout the night. When they did, Jenna Neumann and Ashley Juravich were creating dangerous opportunities.

"We were playing against a better team. You have to move it, but now you have to have that intensity," Nasello said. "I thought we had it from start to finish.

"When you're playing against good teams, you can't look at it like you're going to have the ball for 90 percent of the time. If you can make it 51/49, you're ecstatic," he said. "With Granite, they're a good team. We've known that. You don't go to state and have a chance to win it like they did last year."

Hannah Wittman had a great chance for Alton in overtime, but her slice shot from just outside the box sailed slightly over the bar. Granite City's Sulyn Keomanivane pumped two hard shots from far out in the extra time, but both shots were knocked away by Cooley.

The Warriors finish the SWC slate against Belleville West, while Alton finishes up with Collinsville.

"We're still undefeated and any time you can be undefeated in the Southwestern Conference three-fourths of the way through, that says a lot about your team," Nasello said.

SWC

ALTON 1, GRANITE CITY 1

Granite City 1 0 (0) (0) -- 1

Alton 1 0 (0) (0) -- 1

Scoring

First Half

A-Allison Baker (Jenna Neumann), 18:06.

GC-Rachel Meyer (unassisted), 18:20.

Statistics

Shots: Granite City 18, Alton 14.

Fouls: Granite City 8, Alton 6.

Corners: Granite City 4, Alton 5.

Goalkeepers/Saves: Cassie Lofink (Granite City) 3 saves; Brooke Cooley (Alton) 9 saves.