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Lakeville North's talented Alexis Joyce juggles soccer, hockey with aplomb

By Ron Haggstrom, Star Tribune, 11/05/13, 6:49PM CST

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Alexis Joyce of Lakeville North has mastered the transition of seasons between soccer and hockey, or playing both at once.


(right) Lakeville North's Alexis Joyce chased the puck during the game against Lakeville South on 2/2/13. Feature story on Lakeville North girls' hockey team heading into section play.] Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune bbisping@startribune.com Alexis Joyce/

 

One day Alexis Joyce of Lakeville North is preventing opponents from scoring. The next day she is doing her best to turn on the red light behind a goaltender.

Joyce has done her best at juggling her schedule from the pitch in girls’ soccer, where she is a goalkeeper, to the ice in hockey, where she is a forward/defenseman.

“It’s been a very emotional ride,” Joyce said.

The Lakeville North girls’ soccer team has participated in the state tournament the past three years, overlapping with the start of practice for girls’ hockey. Joyce started the past four years in soccer and will be a fifth-year starter in hockey.

“Hockey is my top sport,” Joyce said. “I’m more out there to have fun in soccer.”

Joyce finished her soccer career with 51 shutouts, the second most all-time by a girls’ goalkeeper in state history. Emily Kipling of Wayzata registered 57 shutouts from 1993-97.

In hockey, Joyce is a Division I recruit who is trying to decide between Bemidji State, Clarkson and RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). She has 89 goals and 117 assists in her career.

“She makes the transition from soccer to hockey very easily,” Panthers girls’ hockey coach Buck Kochevar said. “Those kind of athletes don’t come around too often.”

Joyce has grown accustomed to quickly making the transition between her sports, and at times even taking on both at once. The day after the Panthers’ quarterfinal victory in the soccer state tournament, Joyce headed to Detroit to play in an elite hockey tournament.

“I had to miss soccer practice on that Thursday and Friday to be in Detroit,” Joyce said. “I felt bad because here we are in the state tournament, and I have to miss practice. In the end, though, I have to do what’s best for me and that’s hockey right now.”

In previous years, it was missing the start of the hockey season that took a toll on Joyce.

“People were saying: ‘Why doesn’t she have to try out for the team?’ ” Joyce said. “They were wondering why I was getting a guaranteed spot on varsity. It was hard on me at first.

“I’m not one to take other people’s opinions to heart, but I had to quickly prove to them that I belonged there.”

It can also wreak havoc on her school schedule.

“I’ve had to miss an entire week of school,” Joyce said. “There is pressure on me to stay on track in school, too.”

Joyce has been able to do just that, sporting a 3.99 grade-point average.

“She is dedicated in the classroom, on the field, and on the ice,” Kochevar said. “She is the kind of person every teacher and coach wants to have.”

In short, a winner. The past three years the Panthers have finished second, third and fourth in the soccer state tournament. They took third and fourth in the hockey state tournament the past two seasons. Since she became a soccer starter, the squad has accumulated an overall record of 58-15-9. As a hockey player, the team is 79-36-4.

“Alexis is a measuring stick. She is what every player should hope to achieve,” Kochevar said. “She has grit, is a team player, works hard, doesn’t cut any corners, and wants to win.”

Joyce’s advice to fellow athletes who may encounter the same situation as hers in the future:

“Don’t take anything that people say too harshly,” Joyce said. “Go out and prove yourself — earn your spot.”

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