April 25, 2024

Cards nail down shutouts in home tournament; Mustangs lose twice

By Jocelyn Sheets
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Newton's Taylor Moon (right) keeps possession of the ball against Des Moines Lincoln in the second half of Saturday's tournament game at H.A. Lynn Stadium. The Cardinals won both of their contests in their home tournament. (Jocelyn Sheets)

NEWTON — Twelfth-ranked Newton’s Cardinals played tough on a picture-perfect day on the soccer pitch Saturday at home. The Cardinals did not give up a goal on their way to two wins — 3-0 over Des Moines Lincoln and 4-0 over Prairie City-Monroe — and extending their record to 5-0.

“We’re really proud of the defense for two more shutouts,” said Newton head coach Cathy Reiter, “In both games the girls worked really hard and had a lot of opportunities but struggled to finish in front of the net.  That is a big thing to work on as we are moving forward.”

The Cardinals have only allowed one goal this season in their five games. Newton opens Little Hawkeye Conference play Tuesday at home against Knoxville. Game time is 7 p.m.

Newton’s Victoria Jordan, Michaela Jacobsen, Hannah Rhoads and Ryanne Rausch were named to the all-tournament team.

PCM’s Mustangs are still coming up short offensively on the field. They had several strong attacks Saturday at the NHS varsity girls’ tournament, but weren’t able to score a goal Saturday at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

“We’re getting better, even though the girls aren’t scoring or winning right now. We’ve been able to possess the ball and keep it on the attacking side for extended periods. That’s an improvement,” said Bill Sowder, Mustang head coach, before taking on Perry Saturday.

The Mustangs held off the Bluejays most of the first half. Perry scored with 7:39 left, which held up to a 1-0 halftime lead. The Bluejays struck quickly — 38 seconds — in the second half then added a goal with 23:43 left.

Newton opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Lincoln. Amber Karsten made the pass to Anna Barr, who scored 10 minutes into the contest.  Karsten found the net later on assist from Rausch.

The Cardinals controlled the second half against Lincoln. Jordan put the Cards up 3-0 on a goal off a pass from Rausch. Newton goalkeeper Emily Forsyth was credited with five saves.

Newton and PCM squared off in the final game of the day. Rausch found Karsten on an attack and Karsten delivered the first goal of the contest.

The Cardinals moved to a 2-0 lead on a penalty-kick goal by Jordan. Newton got a  breakaway goal from Karsten in the 20th minute and Macy Leonard scored off a pass from Rhoads three minutes before halftime.

Newton led 4-0 over the Mustangs at the break. That’s the way it ended.

PCM is 1-5. The Mustangs host Grinnell today at 5 p.m. in Monroe.