ALEXANDRIA — Phil Pham’s tenure as the Alexandria boys soccer team’s interim head coach got off to an interesting start on Thursday against the St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders.

Two minutes and two seconds into the game at Alexandria High School, the game was stopped due to a lightning delay.

The game resumed 40 minutes later, and the Crusaders took an early lead with a goal by Jacob Oliver in the seventh minute.

Alexandria knotted the game at one with a Graham Odland goal in the 17th minute.

St. Cloud Cathedral, which finished third in the 2024 MSHSL Class A State Tournament, nearly took the lead late in the half on a penalty kick, but a big save by Alexandria’s Ethan Carlson kept the game tied 1-1.

The game never resumed after that, as back-to-back lightning delays resulted in the gam

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